Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtadv.2021.100148
Title: N95 respirator decontamination: a study in reusability
Authors: Wang, C. -G.
Li, Z. 
Liu, S.
Ng, C. T.
Marzuki, M.
Jeslyn Wong P.S.
Tan, B.
Lee, A.
Hui Lim C.F.
Bifani, P.
Fang, Z.
Ching Wong J.C.
Setoh, Y. X.
Yang, Y. Y.
Mun, C. H.
Fiona Phua S.Z.
Lim, W. Q.
Lin, L.
Cook, A. R. 
Tanoto, H.
Ng, L. -C.
Singhal, A.
Leong, Y. W.
Loh, X. J. 
Keywords: COVID-19
Decontamination
N95
Respirator
Reuse
SARS-CoV-2
UV
Vaporized hydrogen peroxide (VHP)
Issue Date: 1-Sep-2021
Publisher: Elsevier Ltd
Citation: Wang, C. -G., Li, Z., Liu, S., Ng, C. T., Marzuki, M., Jeslyn Wong P.S., Tan, B., Lee, A., Hui Lim C.F., Bifani, P., Fang, Z., Ching Wong J.C., Setoh, Y. X., Yang, Y. Y., Mun, C. H., Fiona Phua S.Z., Lim, W. Q., Lin, L., Cook, A. R., Tanoto, H., Ng, L. -C., Singhal, A., Leong, Y. W., Loh, X. J. (2021-09-01). N95 respirator decontamination: a study in reusability. Materials Today Advances 11 : 100148. ScholarBank@NUS Repository. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtadv.2021.100148
Rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
Abstract: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had caused a severe depletion of the worldwide supply of N95 respirators. The development of methods to effectively decontaminate N95 respirators while maintaining their integrity is crucial for respirator regeneration and reuse. In this study, we systematically evaluated five respirator decontamination methods using vaporized hydrogen peroxide (VHP) or ultraviolet (254 nm wavelength, UVC) radiation. Through testing the bioburden, filtration, fluid resistance, and fit (shape) of the decontaminated respirators, we found that the decontamination methods using BioQuell VHP, custom VHP container, Steris VHP, and Sterrad VHP effectively inactivated Cardiovirus (3-log10 reduction) and bacteria (6-log10 reduction) without compromising the respirator integrity after 2–15 cycles. Hope UVC system was capable of inactivating Cardiovirus (3-log10 reduction) but exhibited relatively poorer bactericidal activity. These methods are capable of decontaminating 10–1000 respirators per batch with varied decontamination times (10–200 min). Our findings show that N95 respirators treated by the previously mentioned decontamination methods are safe and effective for reuse by industry, laboratories, and hospitals. © 2021 The Author(s)
Source Title: Materials Today Advances
URI: https://scholarbank.nus.edu.sg/handle/10635/232034
ISSN: 2590-0498
DOI: 10.1016/j.mtadv.2021.100148
Rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
Appears in Collections:Staff Publications
Elements

Show full item record
Files in This Item:
File Description SizeFormatAccess SettingsVersion 
10_1016_j_mtadv_2021_100148.pdf2.31 MBAdobe PDF

OPEN

NoneView/Download

Google ScholarTM

Check

Altmetric


This item is licensed under a Creative Commons License Creative Commons