Mexican researchers say they created a face mask that neutralized COVID-19

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The ultrastructural morphology exhibited by the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV), which was identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory disease first detected in Wuhan, China, is seen in an illustration published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)) in Atlanta, Georgia, USA on January 29, 2020. Alissa Eckert, MS; Dan Higgins, MAM / CDC / Handout via REUTERS

MEXICO CITY, Aug 26 (Reuters) – Researchers at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) have created a face mask with silver and copper nanolayers that neutralizes SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 , according to the university’s official newspaper on Thursday.

UNAM calls SakCu the three-layer antimicrobial mask; Sak means silver in Mayan and Cu is the chemical symbol for copper.

To test the mask, the researchers took drops of the virus from COVID-19-positive patients at Juarez Hospital in Mexico and placed them on the silver-copper film deposited on polypropylene.

UNAM said that if the viral concentration was high, the virus disappeared more than 80% in about eight hours and if the viral load was low, no RNA of the virus was detected in two hours.

“Upon contact with the silver-copper nanolayer, the SARS-CoV-2 membrane breaks and its RNA is damaged,” the journal said. “So even if SakCu is removed incorrectly, it won’t be a problem as it doesn’t stay contaminated, like many of the masks that are thrown away.”

The face mask can be reused and washed up to ten times without losing its biocidal properties.

UNAM does not mass produce the face mask and said it currently has the capacity to produce 200 per day.

The research was led by the Materials Research Institute of UNAM. It has not been peer reviewed.

Report by Anthony Esposito; Edited by Leslie Adler

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