Efficient antiviral air filtration materials and systems to combat the COVID-19 pandemic

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The goal of the "Efficient antiviral air filtration materials and systems to combat the COVID-19 pandemic" project is to develop novel air filtering systems that can absorb and neutralize infectious bioaerosols to prevent the transmission of epidemic respiratory diseases. A key objective is to design new filtration structure(s) to notably reduce the high pressure drop of the existing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), e.g. N95 masks. This research combines the expertise of Dr. Bahrami's research team at Simon Fraser University (SFU) with BC-based industry partners 4M and Core to develop, characterize and evaluate the effectiveness of air filters that contain antiviral agents. The ultimate objective is to produce cost-effective respirators, facemasks, and HVAC filtration systems with enhanced performance, including: o Increased filtration efficiency, while maintaining minimal pressure drop to enable: - the use of PPE during work/daily activities for mask wearers; and - retrofitting of existing HVAC systems without compromising their capacity; o Enhanced protection through chemical deactivation of viruses that accumulate on the surfaces of filtering facepiece respirators and HVAC filters; o Reduction of the infection risk associated with doffing and disposal of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), specifically virus-laden filter media.