(Fighting against New Coronary Pneumonia) Research says masks may prevent virus transmission

China News Service, Beijing, April 5 Question: Research says that masks may prevent virus transmission

China News Agency reporter Sun Zifa

As the global pandemic of the new coronary pneumonia epidemic becomes more severe, and a number of studies have confirmed the importance of wearing masks for epidemic prevention and control, especially for asymptomatic patients. Currently in the world, whether to wear a mask or not is no longer a multiple choice question.

In China, through continuous scientific research, scientific and technological personnel can re-use civil mask materials, new graphene masks and other related research, and have recently achieved important key technological breakthroughs, which will serve for epidemic prevention and control and play a role in the protection of population health.

Latest research: masks may prevent the spread of seasonal coronavirus

The corresponding author of "Nature-Medical" published on the 3rd is a research paper by Professor Benjamin Cowling, Co-Director of the World Health Organization Cooperative Center for Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology Control, School of Public Health, University of Hong Kong, said that the research team recruited 246 suspected infected respiratory tracts The subjects of the virus let them breathe into the special machine used for research, and then compare the relative content of the virus in the exhaled air with and without the mask. It was found that among 111 subjects who had been confirmed to be infected with coronavirus, influenza virus or rhinovirus, the mask reduced the detectable amount of influenza virus in respiratory droplets and the seasonal coronavirus in aerosol, but did not Reduce the detectable amount of rhinovirus.

New coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is closely related to seasonal coronavirus and may have similar particle sizes. Therefore, the research team believes that surgical masks can reduce seasonal coronavirus in respiratory droplets and aerosols, suggesting that wearing these masks can help slow the spread of the virus.

"Nature" published on the 1st the preliminary results of German medical experts on the diagnosis of new coronavirus infection cases showed that the replication of the new coronavirus in the upper respiratory tract of patients is more active, in the early stage of patients with mild symptoms, that is, within the first week after the symptoms appear , New Coronavirus has the strongest ability to expel viruses in the upper respiratory tract. Experts say that the results of this study also mean that the spread of the new coronavirus is mainly controlled by the spread of droplets. Wearing a mask can play an effective role in this.

Academician Gao Fu, director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control, also clearly pointed out in an interview with Science earlier that droplets play a very important role in the spread of the new coronavirus, so wear masks, and the biggest mistakes in the United States and Europe in the fight against epidemics are People don't wear masks.

Breakthrough in key technologies for reusable civilian mask materials

According to news from the Chinese Academy of Engineering, in early February, in response to the problem of mask reuse during the emergency period, Academician Chen Jianfeng of the Beijing University of Chemical Technology led the team of the State Key Laboratory of Organic and Inorganic Composite Materials of the Beijing University of Chemical Technology to initiate emergency scientific research and carry out "rechargeable mask recharge Reuse technology "research.

At the end of February, the project "Key Technology and Industrialization of Reusable Protective Masks" was approved. Academician Chen Jianfeng was the project leader and Professor Zhang Liqun was the overall project technology leader.

According to the latest news from Beijing University of Chemical Technology, the team of Zhang Liqun and several scientific research teams inside and outside the school have made joint breakthroughs and made breakthroughs in the key technology of reusable civil mask materials. The team has developed a high load charge / high antistatic attenuation and bacteriostatic 3. The new anti-aging three-in-one material is also a polypropylene-based melt-blown fiber material.

After more than a month, each person wore a mask for 8 hours a day. The experiment shows that the melt-blown fiber cloth made of new materials has a high barrier rate to bacteria and viruses, and has a high level of antibacterial performance and anti-aging performance. Also very good. The material mask is continuously immersed in water above 60 ° C for 30 minutes, and can be used again after drying or blowing. If you wear it for 8 hours a day, you can use the new material mask for at least 3 days (recommended to use 3 days), which is equivalent to 3-6 times longer life of traditional disposable masks.

At present, the new material has been trial-produced in batches of more than one million high-performance reusable masks. In April, 10 million masks will be provided to aid the capital in the fight against epidemic disease and resume production.

Graphene mask research and development completes the leap from technology to product

China Aero Engine Group (China Aviation Development Corporation) recently revealed that its aviation materials research personnel have successfully developed new graphene masks with stronger antibacterial properties, better breathability and longer service life. Among them, the usage time of the new graphene mask is more than 48 hours, which is more than 12 times that of the traditional mask, and the filtration efficiency of the new graphene mask is only reduced by 4% after 48 hours of continuous wear.

Graphene is a two-dimensional multifunctional nanomaterial composed of a single layer of carbon atoms. Graphene and its derivatives have the advantages of excellent broad-spectrum antibacterial and antiviral capabilities, good biocompatibility, and simple preparation process. Graphene mask is a new type of protective mask formed by the innovative application of a new graphene polypropylene meltblown cloth material in the key filter layer between the spunbond nonwoven fabrics that constitute an ordinary mask.

Since the outbreak of the New Coronary Pneumonia epidemic, China Aviation Development Aviation Materials Institute has quickly taken advantage of the material technology to start the research and development of new graphene masks, and built a graphene PP pellet production line, a new graphene antibacterial meltblown cloth production line and a new graphene mask In the pilot production line, the application chain of graphene in the field of biomedical protection and environmental purification has been fully opened to complete the rapid leap from technology to products.

In the follow-up, China Aviation Development Aviation Materials Institute will actively carry out upstream and downstream industry cooperation to accelerate the introduction of new graphene masks to the medical field. (Finish)