Design of nanofibrous membrane for biobased face mask to limit the Covid-19 pandemic

Project Title

Design of nanofibrous membrane for biobased face mask to limit the Covid-19 pandemic

Project Area of Specialization Biomedical EngineeringProject Summary

The emergence of coronavirus and its rapid spread across the globe has led to a large pandemic crisis. The face mask is one safety measure and there is a significant rise in the use of face masks every day.

Currently available masks do not protect against respiratory and airborne infectious diseases, and are made of non-renewables, are environmentally hazardous and non-biodegradable. Most current face masks have a pore size which is larger than the virus. It is a major challenge for researchers to inactivate the virus, thus, they are trying to develop a universal virus capturing system. Face masks become an important global healthcare measure amid the coronavirus pandemic.

In this project we have proposed the design and fabrication of an antiviral face mask, an electrospinning process will be used to fabricate nanofibrous membrane from licorice root extract. Researchers have demonstrated that licorice herb is effective against RSV, HIV, and SARS-CoV-2, all of which causes serious pneumonia [1]. Two active compounds of licorice; triterpenes, 18-? glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) and glycyrrhizin (GL) have excellent antiviral properties and the potential to weaken virus activities. SARS-CoV-2 mainly spreads through saliva droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes.[2] Licorice nanofibers can be assembled for increased protection against COVID-19.

So, it would be a great chance if the virus can be controlled at early stage which can be achieved up to some extent by designing of this face mask. Antiviral biobased face mask can stop virus spread from both inside and outside the mask. During coronavirus infection, the face mask is crucial in preventing transmission of the virus.

Figure 1 Virus deactivation mechanism of the antiviral facemask [3]

REFRENCES

[1] Chirumbolo, Salvatore, Commentary: the antiviral and antimicrobial activities of licorice, a widely used Chinese herb. Front. Microbiol, 2016, 7, 531.

[2] Cinatl, J., Morgenstern, B., Bauer, G., Chandra, P., Rabenau, H., Doerr, H.W., 2003. Glycyrrhizin, an active component of liquorice roots, and replication of SARSassociated coronavirus. Lancet 361 (9374), 2045–2046. 

[3] Chowdhury, M. A., Shuvho, M. B. A., Shahid, M. A., Haque, A. K. M. M., Kashem, M. A., Lam, S. S., Ong, H. C., Uddin, M. A., & Mofijur, M. (2021). Prospect of biobased antiviral face mask to limit the coronavirus outbreak. Environmental Research, 192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2020.110294

Project Objectives

1. To develop the nanofibrous membrane for biobased antiviral face mask using licorice root extract.
2. To assess the porosity of a fibrous three-layered filtration mask made from licorice root membrane.
3.  To evaluate the functionality and virus deactivation mechanism of the antiviral mask.

Project Implementation Method

MATERIALS:

• licorice root will be used to fabricate the nanofibers due to its viral inactivation compounds including GL and GA.
• Nanofibers will destroy the virus by releasing GL and GA via contact inhibition.
• Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) solution will also be used in this process because of its ability to produce biodegradable mats and ultrafine separation filters. PVA solution helps the formation of excellent quality nanofibers in electrospinning.

METHODS:

Preparation of licorice root extract and nanofibers:

• Washing, grinding, extraction and filtration of the licorice roots.
• Evaporation of the filtered extract at 70°C while being magnetically stirred until a jelly of polymer is formed.

Preparation of solution for electrospinning process:

• Mixing of PVA with deionized water.
• Stirring the mixture at 80°C until the clear, highly soluble, and transparent solution is obtained.
• Mixing of licorice root extract with PVA solution.
• The final solution for electrospinning will be ready.

Electrospinning process

• Transfer the final prepared solution to  plastic syringe attached to a capillary tip.
• The plastic syringe should be placed at 45°.
• The distance between the collector and capillary tip should be kept 15 cm.
• The copper wire attached to positive electrode is inserted into the solution while connect the negative electrode to a metallic collector.
• Set solution pumping rate at 4 mm/h.
• Switch on the power supply, after few seconds the electrospun nanofiber will start to deposit at collector in the form of nanofibrous membrane.

Evaluation and analysis of functionality of nanofibrous membrane

• The airflow rate of the pores of mask will be measured which is important to determine the functionality of the membrane.
• Virus deactivation mechanism of the antiviral mask will be analysed using Surface morphology analysis SEM, 3D surface topography, Surface threshold topography and particles detection.

Figure 2 Schematic of the electrospinning process to produce a facemask [1]

REFRENCE

1. Chowdhury, M. A., Shuvho, M. B. A., Shahid, M. A., Haque, A. K. M. M., Kashem, M. A., Lam, S. S., Ong, H. C., Uddin, M. A., & Mofijur, M. (2021). Prospect of biobased antiviral face mask to limit the coronavirus outbreak. Environmental Research, 192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2020.110294

Benefits of the Project

Some of the benefits that can be achieved from the implementation of this project are:

1. Nanofibrous licorice root membrane can be used to produce an antiviral biobased face mask to control the COVID-19 spread.
2. Antiviral biobased face mask would be better and advantageous to reduce the transmission of the virus by its unique capturing and deactivating mechanisms.
3. Antiviral biobased face mask is designed to improve by integrating raw materials that are intrinsically eco-friendly, lightweight, and disposable and provide a high standard of efficiency at a low cost.
4. This mask ensures good breathability over an extensive range of pressure drops and pore sizes.
5. The porosity of the proposed mask is less than the size of Covid-19, thus, it is believed that this mask can help to prevent the spread of the virus.
6. It is a novel solution for limiting Covid-19 pandemic.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

Evaluation and analysis of functionality of nanofibrous membrane

1. The airflow rate of the pores of mask will be measured which is important to determine the functionality of the membrane.
2. Virus deactivation mechanism of the antiviral mask will be analysed using Surface morphology analysis SEM, 3D surface topography,  Surface threshold topography and  particles detection.

Final Deliverable of the Project Hardware SystemCore Industry HealthOther Industries Education , Medical Core Technology Wearables and ImplantablesOther Technologies OthersSustainable Development Goals Good Health and Well-Being for People, Quality Education, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, Partnerships to achieve the GoalRequired Resources

Item Name	Type	No. of Units	Per Unit Cost (in Rs)	Total (in Rs)
			Total in (Rs)	80000
Ultrasonic earloop spot welding machine 800 watt	Equipment	1	40000	40000
SEM testing	Equipment	14	1000	14000
Polyvinyl Alcohol ((C2H4O)x)	Equipment	1	6000	6000
Methanol (CH3OH)	Equipment	1	10000	10000
Licorice roots (Plants)	Miscellaneous	2	100	200
Non-woven fabric (5kg)	Miscellaneous	1	300	300
Elastic ribbons (1Roll 3mm)	Miscellaneous	1	2400	2400
Metal strips (100 pcs box)	Miscellaneous	1	500	500
Fabric scissor	Miscellaneous	1	500	500
Stationary	Miscellaneous	1	100	100
Transport	Miscellaneous	10	300	3000
Print	Miscellaneous	3	1000	3000