Biomass-driven nanocomposite fabric materials with hydrophilic charge properties development in vacuum-assisted filtration method (COVID-19)

由严重呼吸综合征冠状病毒(SARS-CoV-2)感染引起的全球大流行目前正在世界各地肆虐。加拿大和几乎所有其他国家一样，在努力抵御新冠肺炎病毒的高传染性和不可预测性之际，已使本国经济处于前所未有的停滞状态。世界卫生组织关于预防和控制新冠肺炎爆发的指南建议使用适当的个人防护装备，这是在职医护人员和疑似感染SARS-CoV-2的患者防止这些病毒直接传播的第一道防线。然而，持续的危机暴露了劣质个人防护装备的内在危险，无论是一线医疗、长期护理(LTC)还是冒着生命危险维持基本和非必要服务的个人支持人员(PSWs)。 戈宾达·萨哈博士(Pi)和他在UNB纳米复合材料和力学实验室的团队，以及UNB生物能源和生物制品实验室的Muhammad Afzal博士(Co-Pi)，与Thermopak有限公司和NB-BioMatrix合作，旨在设计和制造纳米复合织物片材，作为制造个人防护卫生设备(外科和非外科口罩和面部防护盾牌)和在医疗控制环境中进行测试所必需的。该项目的目标是通过开发创新的“加拿大制造”医用级口罩和个人防护设备来应对快速演变的人类新冠肺炎相关健康紧急情况。建议的解决方案将利用纳米材料化学来制造微米级的编织纤维片，具有高机械强度，重量轻，经久耐用，具有所需的孔隙率，可有效过滤99.5%的液滴、微生物、颗粒，并可在接触时灭活人类冠状病毒和其他微生物。

A global pandemic caused by the severe respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infection is currently wreaking havoc around the world. Canada, and virtually every other nation, has put its economy in an unprecedented halt as the country fights to stave off the highly contagious and unpredictable nature of the COVID-19 virus. The World Health Organization's (WHO) guidelines concerning prevention and control of the COVID-19 outbreak recommend use of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), which is the first line of defense against direct transmission of these viruses for practising healthcare workers and patients with suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, the ongoing crisis has exposed the inherent danger of sub-quality PPE, be it for frontline medical, long-term care (LTC), or personal support workers (PSWs) who risk their lives to keep both essential and non-essential services running. Dr. Gobinda Saha (PI) and his team in UNB's Nanocomposites and Mechanics Laboratory, Dr. Muhammad Afzal (Co-PI) in UNB's Bioenergy and Bioproducts Laboratory, in partnership with Thermopak Ltd. and NB-BioMatrix, aim to design and manufacture nanocomposite fabric sheet materials as a requisite to build personal protective hygiene devices (surgical and non-surgical masks and face protective shields) and testing in a medically controlled environment. The goal is to address the quickly evolving human COVID-19 related health emergency by developing innovative, "Made in Canada" medical grade masks and PPE. The proposed solution will utilize nanomaterial chemistry to fabricate micron sized woven fiber sheets with high mechanical strength, that are lightweight, durable, have the desired porosity to efficiently filter >99.5% liquid droplets, microorganisms, particulates, and can inactivate human coronaviruses and other microorganisms upon contact.