Development of Multi-Scale Fibers for Respiratory Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) against COVID-19

开发用于应对 COVID-19 的呼吸个人防护装备 (PPE) 的多尺度纤维

• 批准号: 554333-2020
• 负责人: Park, Simon
• 金额: $ 3.64万
• 依托单位: University of Calgary
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Alliance Grants
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=705281
• 关键词: Development; Multi; Scale; Fibers; Respiratory

The pandemic outbreak of COVID-19 and the shortages of medical devices especially for personal protective equipment (PPE), urged the Canadian industry for the self-sufficient manufacturing capacity of these vital products. High-performance filter materials for N95 respirator masks are crucial to prevent the transmission of diseases by filtering out contagious droplets. However, the continuous usage leads to the reduction in breathing capacity as filtered particles block the pores. The University of Calgary team has formed a collaborative relationship with the industrial partner to fabricate nano and microscale fibers treated with intensive pulsed light (IPL) to create hollow fibers to improve the breathing capacity. Moreover, electrostatic charge is applied to the fibers to enhance filtration capacity of the material. To achieve multi-scale fibers, the melt-blowing method for microfibers and the electrospinning method for nanofibers are used. Polypropylene will be used under varying fiber production parameters such as temperature, blow pressure, distance to the substrate for the melt-blowing process, and the applied voltage and distance to the substrate for the electrospinning. The novelty in the proposed innovation lies not only in the multi-scale fibers but also in the IPL and electrostatic charged treatments for the modification of fibers. Our previous studies showed that nanofibers have transformed under the specific condition of IPL, creating hollow and porous fibers. We expect that the modified fibers exhibit higher surface areas per volume to provide enhanced virus and bacteria collections as well as increased breathing capacity. This investigation will provide the Canadian produced enhanced respiratory masks, thereby increasing the readiness of PPE against the high demands at essential service providers as well as facilitate training of HQP with a variety of professional and technical skills.

COVID-19疫情爆发及医疗器械（尤其是个人防护装备）短缺，促使加拿大业界建立这些重要产品的自给自足生产能力。N95口罩的高性能过滤材料通过过滤传染性飞沫来防止疾病传播至关重要。然而，连续使用会导致呼吸能力降低，因为过滤的颗粒会堵塞孔隙。 卡尔加里大学的团队已经与工业合作伙伴建立了合作关系，以制造用强脉冲光（IPL）处理的纳米和微米级纤维，以制造中空纤维来提高呼吸能力。此外，静电荷被施加到纤维上以增强材料的过滤能力。为了实现多尺度纤维，使用用于微纤维的熔喷方法和用于纳米纤维的静电纺丝方法。聚丙烯将在不同的纤维生产参数下使用，所述纤维生产参数例如温度、吹塑压力、用于熔喷工艺的到基底的距离以及用于静电纺丝的施加电压和到基底的距离。 所提出的创新的新奇不仅在于多尺度纤维，而且在于用于纤维改性的IPL和静电荷处理。我们以前的研究表明，纳米纤维在IPL的特定条件下发生了转化，产生了中空和多孔纤维。我们期望改性纤维表现出更高的单位体积表面积，以提供增强的病毒和细菌收集以及增加的呼吸能力。这项调查将提供加拿大生产的增强型呼吸面罩，从而提高个人防护设备的准备程度，以满足基本服务提供者的高要求，并促进对HQP进行各种专业和技术技能的培训。