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Assessment of Different Experimental Setups to Determine Viral Filtration Efficiency of Face Masks

Author

Listed:
  • Arijana Filipić

    (Department of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Večna pot 111, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia)

  • Katja Fric

    (Department of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Večna pot 111, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia)

  • Maja Ravnikar

    (Department of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Večna pot 111, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia)

  • Polona Kogovšek

    (Department of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Večna pot 111, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia)

Abstract

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many new materials and masks came onto the market. To determine their suitability, several standards specify which properties to test, including bacterial filtration efficiency (BFE), while none describe how to determine viral filtration efficiency (VFE), a property that is particularly important in times of pandemic. Therefore, we focused our research on evaluating the suitability and efficiency of different systems for determining VFE. Here, we evaluated the VFE of 6 mask types (e.g., a surgical mask, a respirator, material for mask production, and cloth masks) with different filtration efficiencies in four experimental setups and compared the results with BFE results. The study included 17 BFE and 22 VFE experiments with 73 and 81 mask samples tested, respectively. We have shown that the masks tested had high VFE (>99% for surgical masks and respirators, ≥98% for material, and 87–97% for cloth masks) and that all experimental setups provided highly reproducible and reliable VFE results (coefficient of variation < 6%). Therefore, the VFE tests described in this study can be integrated into existing standards for mask testing.

Suggested Citation

  • Arijana Filipić & Katja Fric & Maja Ravnikar & Polona Kogovšek, 2022. "Assessment of Different Experimental Setups to Determine Viral Filtration Efficiency of Face Masks," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-13, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:22:p:15353-:d:978812
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    Cited by:

    1. Lai-Yin Qin, 2023. "A Comparison of the Effect of Facemasks on Perceived Breathability and Air Quality during Daily Activities and Indoor Exercises," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-10, February.

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