New strategies to Fabricate High-Performance Face Masks Filters Against COVID-19

COVID-19大流行的兴起暴露了对易于获得的高级个人防护装备（PPE）的需求。N95口罩等基本防护设备的供应有限，已被证明对卫生专业人员和公众都是有害的，而这些设备已被确定有助于最大限度地减少这种疾病的传播。然而，自制口罩等替代品只能对周围的人提供单向保护，对使用者的保护很少，而外科口罩的保护有限，因为其机械过滤器提供的颗粒尺寸穿透性高，而N95口罩的穿透性低。由于N95口罩的生产主要在加拿大境外进行，因此获得N95口罩或类似口罩的难度进一步加大。该研究项目提出了通过静电纺丝方法生产本地生产的活化纳米纤维层，以制造比N95口罩性能更高的过滤器。这种方法将用于生产高电荷、高多孔性、吸水性、抗病毒的口罩，其疏水性层可以消除对多余水分的吸收。该项目的成果将容易且容易地转移到加拿大的工业中，以生产高效的口罩过滤器，为用户和周围的人提供COVID-19防护。

The rise of the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the need for readily accessible high grade personal protective equipment (PPE). The limited supply of essential protective equipment such as N95 face masks, that have been determined to aid in minimizing the spread of this disease, has proven detrimental to both health professionals and the public. However, substitutes such as homemade masks only provide one-way protection for those around and little for the user, while surgical masks offer limited protection due to the high particle size penetration provided by its mechanical filters as opposed to the low penetration size offered by the N95 masks. The difficulty of accessing the N95 face masks or similar are further compounded as its manufacture majorly occurs outside Canada. This research project proposes the development of locally produced activated nano-fiber layers produced by an electrospinning method to fabricate filters of higher performance than the N95 masks. This method would be used to produce masks that are highly electrically charged, highly porous, absorbent, anti-viral with hydrophobic layers that dispel the absorption of excess moisture. The results from this project will be readily and easily transferable to the Canadian industries to produce highly efficient mask filters for protection against the COVID-19 for both the users and those around.