Face masks, which serve as personal protection equipment, have become ubiquitous for
combating the ongoing COVID-19. However, conventional electrostatic-based mask filters
are disposable and short-term effective with high breathing resistance, causing
respiratory ailments and massive consumption (129 billion monthly), intensifying global
environmental pollution. In an effort to address these challenges, the introduction of a
piezoelectric polymer was adopted to realize the charge-laden melt-blown via the
melt-blowing method. The charge-laden melt-blown could be applied to manufacture face
masks and to generate charges triggered by mechanical and acoustic energy originated
from daily speaking. Through an efficient and scalable industrial melt-blown process,
our charge-laden mask is capable of overcoming the inevitable electrostatic attenuation,
even in a high-humidity atmosphere by long-wearing (prolonging from 4 to 72 h) and
three-cycle common decontamination methods. Combined with outstanding protective
properties (PM
2.5
filtration efficiency >99.9%), breathability
(differential pressure <17 Pa/cm
2
), and mechanical strength, the resultant
charge-laden mask could enable the decreased replacement of masks, thereby lowering to
94.4% of output masks worldwide (∼122 billion monthly) without substituting the
existing structure or assembling process.
Constrained by the existing scaffold inability to mimic limbal niche, limbal bio-engineered tissue constructed in vitro is challenging to be widely used in clinical practice. Here, a 3D nanofiber-aerogel scaffold is fabricated by employing thermal cross-linking electrospinned film polycaprolactone (PCL) and gelatin (GEL) as the precursor. Benefiting from the cross-linked (160 °C, vacuum) structure, the homogenized and lyophilized 3D nanofiber-aerogel scaffold with preferable mechanical strength is capable of refraining the volume collapse in humid vitro. Intriguingly, compared with traditional electrospinning scaffolds, the authors' 3D nanofiber-aerogel scaffolds possess enhanced water absorption (1100-1300%), controllable aperture (50-100 μm), and excellent biocompatibility (optical density value, 0.953 ± 0.021). The well-matched aperture and nanostructure of the scaffolds with cells enable the construction of limbal bio-engineered tissue. It is foreseen that the proposed general method can be extended to various aerogels, providing new opportunities for the development of novel limbal bio-engineered tissue.
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