Reusable Filters Augmented with Heating Microfibers for Antibacterial and Antiviral Sterilization

Abstract

Numerous threats to human health and ecosystems on earth exist due to air pollution and the spread of fatal diseases. Airborne pollutants and particulate matter (PM) pose serious public health risks. In addition, the emergence and spread of bacterial and viral diseases constantly threaten public health and safety. Although various approaches have been implemented thus far to protect humans from air pollution and exposure to diseases, several challenges remain to be addressed. In this study, we developed a hybrid air filter consisting of filtration, heating, and thermal insulation layers. The air filtration layer can effectively capture airborne PM1 particles (less than 1.0 μm in diameter). Furthermore, the heating layer enables the hybrid air filter to generate temperatures above 100 °C, and the insulation layer prevents the heat from being transferred to the other side (e.g., the human skin, if the hybrid air filter is used in a facemask). Since several bacteria and viruses are incapacitated under high temperatures, this hybrid air filter holds great promise for antibacterial and antiviral protection.

Global View and Trends in Electrospun Nanofiber Membranes for Particulate Matter Filtration: A Review

“…The main issues in the mentioned process are the resulting micron‐diameters and higher basis weights. [ 114 ] Several coating materials have been reported as copper, [ 115 ] aluminum, [ 114 ] titanium, zirconium, aluminum nitride, among others. [ 29 ]…”

“…This hybrid air filter holds great promise for antibacterial and antiviral protection. [ 115 ] A tree‐like AgNPs/PVDF nanofiber membrane was developed, where the addition of AgNPs did not change the hydrophobic property of the membrane and the filtration efficiency was 99.95–99.97% and the pressure drop was 137.5 Pa; the bacterial reduction rates value against for Staphylococcus aureus and E. coli were kept at a level of higher than 99.6% after exposure to sunlight for 2 weeks. [ 98 ] Likewise, Ag/PAN electrospun fibers deposited on a nonwoven substrate were reported as air filters to remove nanoparticles from the air and also showed bactericidal activity.…”

Functionalized Masks: Powerful Materials against COVID‐19 and Future Pandemics

“…In another advanced strategy, a hybrid and reusable Cu/PAN‐based filter composed of three layers was developed for potential application in face masks. [ 95 ] The three layers are shown in Figure 16 b , c consist of i) the air filtration layer, made by the electrospinning of PAN solution in DMF, for the removal of airborne pollutants and particulate matter (PM), bacteria, or viruses from breathing stream, ii) the heating layer, made by electroplating of Cu on the PAN nanofiber mat, responsible for the production of high heat for deactivation of bacterial and virus particles, and iii) the thermal insulation layer made of polytetrafluoroethylene for preventing the heat from transferring to the other side of the filter and avoiding the burning of the human skin. This three‐layer filter could be simply embedded into the structure of face masks to generate high local temperatures in response to weak voltages to kill the microorganisms (Figure 16d ).…”

An emerging role of microplastics in the etiology of lung ground glass nodules

“…Increasing evidence demonstrated that microfiber carry bacteria/virus 50 , which may play an important role in their interaction with the host. Intriguingly, compared to normal tissue, GGNs harbored a distinct lung bacterial community structure, with significantly increasing Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes [51][52][53] .…”