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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to A Review of the Fabrication Methods, Testing, and Performance of Face Masks
ClearA Novel Face Masks and it’s Utility during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comprehensive Review
This review examines the technical specifications, materials, and engineering advances of face masks used during the COVID-19 pandemic, including both commercial and homemade options. Researchers discuss the environmental impact of disposable masks, noting that their widespread use has contributed to microplastic pollution as mask materials degrade. The study highlights the need for mask designs that balance effective viral protection with reduced environmental contamination.
Processing and Quality Control of Masks: A Review
This review examines face mask manufacturing methods, filtration mechanisms, and quality control testing procedures, covering both conventional meltblown and spunlaid techniques and newer additive manufacturing approaches.
Different Type of Face Masks and Their Protection Against Covid-19
This review examined the protective effectiveness of different face mask types against COVID-19. While focused on masks as infection control, surgical and N95 masks are a significant source of microplastic fibers released into the environment during use and disposal.
Aerosol Filtration Testing of Fabrics for Development of Reusable Face Masks
Researchers tested the aerosol filtration performance of over 300 fabrics and layered fabric combinations for use as reusable face masks, finding that layered materials and hydrophobic coatings significantly improve filtration efficiency while maintaining breathability. The work provides practical guidance for designing effective non-disposable masks — an important consideration given that disposable mask waste, including microplastic-releasing synthetic fibers, became a major pollution concern during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mask material: challenges and virucidal properties as an effective solution against coronavirus SARS-CoV-2
This review examines the filtration efficiency, breathability, and virucidal properties of different mask materials against SARS-CoV-2, finding that cotton mask performance improves with higher thread count and more layers but at a cost to breathability.
An overview of filtration efficiency through the masks: Mechanisms of the aerosols penetration
Researchers reviewed how different types of face masks filter airborne particles — including viral droplets and pollution aerosols — examining the physical and chemical mechanisms that govern how tiny particles penetrate mask layers under varying environmental conditions. The review finds that no single mask design is optimal for all aerosol sizes and conditions, and that better filtration requires understanding the interplay of particle size, humidity, and mask construction.
Face Masks to Combat Coronavirus (COVID-19)—Processing, Roles, Requirements, Efficacy, Risk and Sustainability
This review examines the materials, manufacturing methods, and effectiveness of face masks used during the COVID-19 pandemic, most of which are made from non-biodegradable plastics like polypropylene and polyester. Researchers found that while masks are effective at reducing virus transmission, their widespread use and improper disposal have created a significant environmental concern as they break down into microplastics. The study calls for more sustainable mask materials and better waste management strategies to reduce the environmental footprint of pandemic-related plastic waste.
Face masks and respirators: Towards sustainable materials and technologies to overcome the shortcomings and challenges
This review examines the limitations of current face masks and respirators, including low filtration efficiency and non-biodegradability, and explores sustainable materials and emerging technologies such as nanofibers and biodegradable polymers to address these shortcomings.
Memories of COVID-19: The Types of Fitted Face Masks Between Public Health Advice and Personal Choice
This study documented the types and evolution of fitted face masks used during the COVID-19 pandemic, examining how public health advice and personal choice shaped mask-wearing behavior and the environmental legacy of mask waste.
What We Are Learning from COVID-19 for Respiratory Protection: Contemporary and Emerging Issues
This review examines lessons from COVID-19 for respiratory protection, analyzing how the pandemic revealed limitations in mask design, supply chains, and risk communication, while driving innovation in filtration materials including electrospun nanofiber membranes that shed microplastics.
Reusability of face masks: Influence of washing and comparison of performance between medical face masks and community face masks
Researchers tested the impact of 20 wash cycles at 60 degrees Celsius on the particle filtration efficiency and breathability of both medical face masks and reusable community face masks, measuring performance across particle sizes from 0.1 to 6.5 micrometers. They found that washing affected filtration efficiency differently between mask types, informing guidance on the safe reuse of masks and their relative environmental footprints.
Study of Surface Morphology and Effectiveness of Common Nasopharyngeal Masks: A Case of Kathmandu, Nepal
Researchers tested 38 face masks — including cloth masks, surgical masks, and N95 respirators — against PM10 and PM2.5 particles using a mannequin head setup in Kathmandu, Nepal, finding significant variation in filtration efficiency among mask types. The study provides practical guidance on mask effectiveness for particulate matter protection in real-world conditions.
A Critical Review on Reusable Face Coverings: Mechanism, Development, Factors, and Challenges
This review evaluated reusable face coverings as alternatives to disposable masks, examining filtration mechanisms, material developments, and key challenges including microplastic fiber shedding from textile-based coverings during use and washing.
Electrospun nanofiber-based respiratory face masks—a review
Researchers reviewed advances in face mask materials during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on electrospun nanofiber membranes with nano-sized pores that offer high filtration efficiency at low weight, and highlighting the integration of metal-organic frameworks, graphene, and 3D-printing as pathways to multifunctional and reusable mask designs.
Public face masks wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic: A comprehensive analysis is needed for potential implications
This review weighed evidence on the effectiveness of face masks for preventing COVID-19 transmission against growing evidence that masks release microplastics and chemical contaminants when worn and degraded. The authors concluded that the public health benefits of mask use during the pandemic outweighed plastic exposure risks, but called for redesigned masks with lower MP release and better end-of-life management.
Need for Assessing the Inhalation of Micro(nano)plastic Debris Shed from Masks, Respirators, and Home-Made Face Coverings During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Researchers raised concerns about potential inhalation of micro- and nanoplastic particles shed from face masks and respirators during the COVID-19 pandemic, noting a gap in existing quality standards. They called for regulatory attention to respirable plastic debris from protective equipment.
Cotton and Surgical Masks—What Ecological Factors Are Relevant for Their Sustainability?
This study assessed the ecological sustainability of cotton and surgical face masks in the context of high pandemic-driven demand, examining factors including raw material sourcing, manufacturing footprint, use, and end-of-life disposal. It found that mask type, reuse frequency, and disposal pathway strongly influence overall environmental impact.
The Life of a Face Mask: from Production to Use to Disposal
This review covers the full life cycle of face masks—from production through use to disposal—and their protective efficacy and environmental impact. The widespread use of single-use plastic masks during COVID-19 generated millions of tons of plastic waste that risks fragmenting into environmental microplastics.
Filtration Performance of Layering Masks and Face Coverings and the Reusability of Cotton Masks after Repeated Washing and Drying
Researchers tested the filtration efficiency of various face masks and found that layering a cloth mask over a surgical mask improved particle filtration by about 25%, and that cotton masks retained their filtration ability even after 52 wash-and-dry cycles. However, the study also observed that repeated washing gradually broke down cotton fibers into micro- and nano-scale fragments, raising a subtle concern about microfiber shedding from laundered cloth masks.
Effectiveness of Inexpensive Cloth Facemasks and Their Amendments to Reduce Ambient Particulate Exposures: A Case of Kathmandu, Nepal
This study tested multiple types of inexpensive cloth face masks under controlled airflow conditions in Kathmandu, Nepal and found wide variation in particulate matter filtration efficiency across mask types, with multilayer and tightly woven designs performing best for reducing ambient particle inhalation.
Addressing the worldwide shortages of face masks
The COVID-19 pandemic created urgent and widespread shortages of certified face masks globally, prompting discussion of disinfection, reuse, and the development of innovative mask designs including reusable, antiviral, and biodegradable options. This prospective review outlines the materials, manufacturing challenges, and potential of these next-generation masks.
Viruses and Their Penetration Through Fibrous Structures: a Review
This review examines how viruses interact with and penetrate fibrous structures such as face masks and respirators, analyzing the filtration mechanisms and material properties that determine the protective efficacy of textile barriers against airborne viral transmission.
Face Mask as a Tool to Prevent the Coronavirus Disease 2019: The Importance and Challenges
This review examined the effectiveness and challenges of face masks for preventing COVID-19 transmission. Disposable surgical masks are now recognized as a significant environmental source of microplastic fibers, as they shed synthetic particles during use and when discarded.
Fabric structure and polymer composition as key contributors to micro(nano)plastic contamination in face masks.
Researchers investigated how the structure of face masks — including surgical polypropylene and fashionable polyurethane masks — influences the generation of micro- and nano-plastics during normal wear and UV aging. The findings show that mask material composition and fabric structure are key determinants of how much plastic particles are shed into the wearer's breathing zone.