New graphene-modified facemasks to offer more effective protection against coronavirus
A consortium of Spanish scientists and companies are working on the development of new and safer prophylactic facemasks to combat the viral coronavirus. The masks will be made of non-woven textiles specially modified with graphene and its derivative materials e.g. polypropylene, which is the material used in most of today’s facemask filters.
“Our intention is to incorporate two-dimensional materials such as graphene and/or derivatives thereof, such as graphene oxide, which would generate an antiviral barrier specifically effective in the case of SARS-CoV-2,” explain the scientists. To do this, they will use a simple, scalable process to generate graphene inks. A study on the new materials as facemasks is currently underway.
“Our end-goal is to develop a technology that helps make facemasks more effective and comfortable—that is, prophylactic textiles that are designed to combat the SARS-CoV-2 virus in general, but are adaptable to other viruses as well.”
The team includes researchers from the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM), the National Centre for Biotechnology (CNB-CSIC), and others from the University of Granada’s (UGR) Andalusian Inter-University Institute for Earth System Research (IISTA).
Also involved are Spanish companies Nanoinnova Technologies, manufacturer of graphene and derivatives, which will provide the project with these materials, and Textil Elástico, manufacturer of orthopaedic elastic products, which will produce the facemasks themselves.
Category: Features, Technology & Devices
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