The present study investigates the potential of SARS-CoV-2 inactivation by a copper sulfide (CuS) incorporated three-layer mask design. The mask consisted of the outer, middle, and inner layers to give comfort, strength, shape, and safety. The outer layer contained a total of 4.4% CuS (w/w) (2.2% CuS coated & 2.2% CuS impregnated) nylon fibers and the middle entrapment area contain a total of 17.6% CuS (w/w) impregnated nylon. No CuS was present in the inner layer. The antiviral efficacy assessment revealed, CuS incorporated mask is highly effective in inactivating SARS-CoV-2 within 30 min exposure. After, 1h and 2 h exposure, near-complete elimination of virus were observed by cytopathy, fluorescence, and viral copy number. The antiviral activity of the mask material was derived by incorporated solid-state CuS. Noticeably, the antiviral activity of CuS against SARS-CoV-2 was in the form of solid-state CuS, but not as Cu²⁺ ionic form derived by dissolved CuSO₄. The kinetics of droplet entrapment revealed, that the three-layered mask almost completely block virus-containing droplet pass-through for short exposure periods of 1–2 min, and 80% efficacy for longer exposure times of 5–10 min. We also demonstrated the incorporated CuS is evenly distributed all over the fibers assuring the uniformity of potential antiviral activity and proves, CuS particles are not easily shed out of the fabric fibers. The inactivation efficacy demonstrated against SARS-CoV-2 proves that the CuS incorporated three-layer mask will be a lifesaver during the present intense global pandemic.

本研究调查了采用硫化铜 (CuS) 的三层掩模设计对 SARS-CoV-2 灭活的可能性。面罩由外层、中层和内层组成，以提供舒适性、强度、形状和安全性。外层总共包含 4.4% CuS (w/w)（2.2% CuS 涂层和 2.2% CuS 浸渍）尼龙纤维，中间截留区域包含总共 17.6% CuS (w/w) 浸渍尼龙。内层中不存在 CuS。抗病毒功效评估显示，含 CuS 的口罩在暴露 30 分钟内可高效灭活 SARS-CoV-2。暴露 1 小时和 2 小时后，通过细胞病变、荧光和病毒拷贝数观察到病毒几乎完全消除。掩模材料的抗病毒活性来源于掺入的固态 CuS。值得注意的是，由溶解的 CuSO _4衍生的²⁺离子形式。液滴截留的动力学表明，三层口罩在 1-2 分钟的短暴露时间内几乎完全阻断了含有病毒的液滴通过，而对于 5-10 分钟的较长暴露时间则有 80% 的功效。我们还展示了掺入的 CuS 均匀分布在整个纤维中，确保了潜在抗病毒活性的均匀性，并证明，CuS 颗粒不容易从织物纤维中脱落。对 SARS-CoV-2 的灭活效果证明，在当前激烈的全球大流行期间，含有 CuS 的三层口罩将成为救命稻草。