Face masks prevent coronaviruses from spreading in the air.
A new type of mask is supposed to disinfect the air we breathe and thus protect it even better against Covid-19.
FFP2 masks, normal everyday masks or surgeon's mouthguards: There are considerable differences in quality when it comes to mouth and nose covers *.
But one thing has been proven: They all help to enormously slow down the spread of the corona pandemic.
Drops of saliva contaminated with coronaviruses are caught by the face mask and do not fly far into the environment, as would be the case without a mask
.
In this way, the risk of Covid-19 infection is also reduced enormously.
Experts see compulsory masking for everyone as sensible, among other things, because symptom-free people could also be potential virus carriers.
US researchers have now addressed the question of
which masks can most effectively inhibit the transmission of coronaviruses.
The scientists developed anti-viral impregnations for this purpose: layers of fabric to which phosphoric acid or copper salt were added.
Did you know?
Copper has an antiviral effect - attached to door handles or window handles, copper tape also inactivates coronaviruses (promotional link)
Contain Corona with antiviral substances in face masks?
When exhaling, effective amounts of copper salt or phosphoric acid from the impregnated layer of material got into the respiratory droplets, which would significantly inhibit the transmission of infectious viruses, according to the researchers in the journal "Matter".
In a simulation, the inhibiting substances in the fabric layer penetrated up to 82 percent of the exhaled droplets, as the Science Portal currently reported.
The research results would show that it is possible to reduce the infectiousness of viruses in exhaled droplets
using
chemically treated masks,
but the antiviral impregnated mask has not yet been tested on breath contaminated with coronaviruses
.
The actual protective effect must therefore now be checked in experiments with Sars-CoV-2.
(jg)
*
Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network
.
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Everyday masks and the question of materials
Everyday masks and the question of materials