Graphene Oxide/Polylactic Acid-Based Face Mask to Combat H3N2: A Strategy against Influenza

Abstract

Personal protective equipment such as face masks has become a fundamental tool to fight against virus-filled airborne droplets, preventing their widespread and the emergence of pandemics. While most face masks avoid the passing of airborne particles via a filtration effect, their protection effectiveness can be further increased by developing techniques based on antiviral coatings, which can inhibit virus replication. Among different coatings, carbon-based coatings are considered very appealing due to their low price and high antiviral properties. Most importantly, proper material selection during mask manufacturing is becoming more crucial as the high demand and consumption of common polypropylene face masks have grown into a huge environmental hazard. Herein, we present a potential face mask system based on nanoplatelets of graphene oxide (GO) spray coated via a simple one-step procedure over a poly(lactic acid) textile fabric, allowing a homogeneous coating. The incorporation of GO does not affect the textile structure nor affect its air permeability, while it increases its water contact angle, potentially preventing droplet trespassing. The antiviral efficiency was tested against Influenza A virus (H3N2) (strain A/Hong Kong/8/68), reaching a high reduction with no cytotoxic effect observed.