SBIR Phase I: Rapidly Deployable Virus Adsorbing Face Mask Coating to Reduce COVID-19 Transmission

小企业创新研究项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是减少新型冠状病毒（SARS-CoV-2）和其他病毒性病原体的病毒传播。正在进行的COVID-19大流行已造成数十万人死亡，经济和医疗保健系统受到广泛破坏。事实证明，口罩在减少冠状病毒传播方面发挥着关键作用。然而，布口罩在保护佩戴者免受暴露方面做得很差，而对一线工作人员和公众来说，有效的替代品（即N95呼吸器）供应短缺，迫切需要一种低成本、安全、有效和简单的涂层技术，以减少病毒传播。该项目将开发一种可直接应用于口罩或口罩插入物的涂层。除了COVID-19，未来的涂料成分可以调整以应对新的病毒爆发。此外，由于对当前危机的认识提高，通过涂层或过滤器插入的呼吸保护可能会有很高的需求。SBIR一期项目旨在开发具有两性特性的分子涂层，以增强病毒对水基气溶胶的吸附。离子交换（IEX）材料通常用于水环境中作为有效的病毒吸附剂，因为pH可调的静电亲和力。然而，这些设计原则并没有转化为口罩涂层，因为市售的IEX材料：1)使用需要复杂和集中生产的危险化学品，2)在固定pH值环境（即人类呼吸）中缺乏吸附的可调性，3)通常会吸收不利于口罩呼吸保护的水。该项目将通过设计异质表面涂层来克服这些限制。将对涂层组合物进行优化，以促进在呼吸条件下（即pH ~ 7.7）对病毒的静电吸附，同时增强疏水性，以尽量减少气溶胶通过多孔口罩的渗透。提出的研究解决的关键技术障碍是：1)形成单相涂层溶液；2)涂层应用和优化两性选择性吸附性能；3)实现2倍或更高的病毒保护系数；4)评估从摇篮到坟墓的安全性。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) project is the reduction of viral transmission of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and other viral pathogens. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has killed hundreds of thousands with widespread disruption to economic and healthcare systems. Face masks have been shown to play a critical role in reducing coronavirus transmission. However, cloth masks do a poor job protecting the wearer from exposure and effective alternatives (i.e., N95 respirators) are in short supply for front-line workers and the public, creating an urgent need for a low-cost, safe, effective, and simple coating technology that reduces virus transmission. This project will develop a coating that can be applied directly to a face mask or mask insert. Beyond COVID-19, future coating compositions could be tuned to address new viral outbreaks. Furthermore, respiratory protection via coatings or filter inserts are likely to be in high demand given the increased awareness from the current crisis. This SBIR Phase I project proposes to develop molecular coatings with amphoteric properties to enhance virus adsorption from water-based aerosols. Ion exchange (IEX) materials are commonly used in aqueous environments as effective virus adsorbents because of pH tunable electrostatic affinity. However, these design principles have not been translated to a face mask coating because commercially available IEX materials: 1) utilize hazardous chemicals that require complex and centralized production, 2) lack tunability for adsorption in a fixed pH environment (i.e., human breath), and 3) typically absorb water which is detrimental to the respiratory protection of a mask. This project will overcome these limitations through the design of a heterogeneous surface coating. The coating composition will be optimized to promote electrostatic virus adsorption under breathing conditions (i.e., pH ~ 7.7) while simultaneously enhancing hydrophobicity to minimize aerosol penetration through a porous mask. The key technical hurdles addressed by the proposed research are: 1) formation of a single phase coating solution, 2) coating application and optimization of amphoteric properties for selective adsorption, 3) achieving an increase viral protection factor of 2× or higher, and 4) assessing cradle-to-grave safety.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.