Self-cleaning mask can kill viruses with high temperature from phone charger, researchers say
22 June, 2020
Israeli researchers say they have invented a reusable nose and mouth mask that may kill the coronavirus with heat by drawing power from a cellular phone charger.
The disinfecting process takes about 30 minutes - and users shouldn't wear the mask while it is plugged in, said Professor Yair Ein-Eli, who led the study team at Technion University in Haifa.
The new mask has a USB port that connects to a power source like a standard cellphone charger that heats an interior layer of carbon fibers to 70 degrees Celsius (158 Fahrenheit), high more than enough to kill viruses.
Ein-Eli said disposable masks, in popular globally through the health crisis, were not economically or environmentally friendly.
"You have to help to make it reusable and friendly, and this is our solution," he said.
Professor Allon Moses, a great infectious diseases expert at Jerusalem's Hadassah Medical Center, said there was "no question" that a half hour's contact with 70-degree heating would kill the coronavirus.
But he cautioned that repeated heat could "damage the mask's paper or fabric and spoil its capability to protect from disorders later on".
During assessment, the prototype was subjected to 20 heating cycles, each for around 30 minutes, with no impact on durability, Ein-Eli said.
"We can promise it up to few dozen cycles, without the risk," he added.
The prototype looks like a standard N95 nose and mouth mask, with a valve at the front and bands to carry it set up around the head.
The experts submitted a patent for the mask in america in later March and say they are discussing commercializing the merchandise with the private sector.
It'll likely sell at a $1 premium more than the price tag on a typical disposable face mask, the researchers say.
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