Salt-Enhanced Masks Kill Viruses

Jan-11-17 By adding salt to surgical masks, researchers have developed a material able to kill viruses as well as block them.

The technology focuses on preventing the spread of respiratory diseases such as SARS, which travel by viruses that can become trapped—but alive—in the pores of typical respirators.

To offer added protection, the team from the University of Alberta took a lesson from another experiment to create a salt-based filter able to kill the viruses. The new filter is coated with a sodium chloride salt solution, which will dissolve upon contact with the aerosol droplets carrying the virus. As the salt dissolves, it will recrystallize to form sharp ridges that physically destroy the virus.

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[NEWATLAS.COM]
[ENGINEERING.UALBERTA.CA]

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