Recent global outbreak of COVID-19 has raised serious awareness about our abilities to protect ourselves from hazardous pathogens and volatile organic compounds. Evidence suggests that personal protection equipment such as respiratory masks can radically decrease rates of transmission and infections due to contagious pathogens. To increase filtration efficiency without compromising breathability, application of nanofibers in production of respiratory masks have been proposed. The emergence of nanofibers in the industry has since introduced a next generation of respiratory masks that promises improved filtration efficiency and breathability via nanometric pores and thin fiber thickness. In addition, the surface of nanofibers can be functionalized and enhanced to capture specific particles. In addition to conventional techniques such as melt-blown, respiratory masks by nanofibers have provided an opportunity to prevent pathogen transmission. As the surge in global demand for respiratory masks increases, herein, we reviewed recent advancement of nanofibers as an alternative technique to be used in respiratory mask production.

中文翻译：

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呼吸面罩中的纳米纤维：防止病原体传播的替代方案


最近在全球爆发的新型冠状病毒肺炎 (COVID-19) 提高了人们对保护自己免受有害病原体和挥发性有机化合物侵害的能力的深刻认识。有证据表明，呼吸面罩等个人防护设备可以从根本上降低传染性病原体的传播和感染率。为了在不影响透气性的情况下提高过滤效率，有人提出将纳米纤维应用于呼吸面罩的生产。此后，纳米纤维在行业中的出现催生了下一代呼吸面罩，该面罩有望通过纳米孔和薄纤维厚度提高过滤效率和透气性。此外，纳米纤维的表面可以被功能化和增强以捕获特定的颗粒。除了熔喷等传统技术外，纳米纤维呼吸面罩也提供了防止病原体传播的机会。随着全球对呼吸面罩的需求激增，本文回顾了纳米纤维作为呼吸面罩生产替代技术的最新进展。