Ispitivanje propusnosti različitih tipova zaštitnih maski za vijabilne čestice plijesni u zraku

Scientific paper - Original scientific paper

• Author: Filip Pudić
• Author: Daniela Jakšić
• Author's institution: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry; (Department of microbiology)
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: BIOMEDICINE AND HEALTHCARE; Pharmacy; Pharmacy

Abstract (croatian)

The beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in global
application of face masks and respirators as a common control
measure in reducing the risk of infection and disease transmission. Consequently,
the efficacy of the. masks and respirators in mitigating negative health
impact related to the inhalation of various airborne particles were investigated.
Given the widespread distribution, public health and economic significance,
molds certainly represent a part of the aerial ecosystem that is important to
explore. Therefore, in this paper, we examined the permeability of a cotton mask,
surgical mask, FFP2 and FFP3 respirators far indoor and outdoor aeromycota by
using air sampling device and appropriate agar plates. The results of quantitative
analysis have shown that in both cases the FFP2 mask best retains viable mold
particles (93-95%) in accordance with a declared regulation and the certificate
due. Although a respirator type FFP3 mask should have retained the mycoparticles
to an even greater extent, this study showed up to 11 % lower efficiency
compared to a certified filtration percentage of 99%. The surgical mask was the
least effective and retained 30-80% less of the viable mold particles. lnterestingly,
the reverse of the surgical mask retained as much as 89% of viable mold
particles. Such results are in line with the recommendation to wear a surgical
mask to reduce the spread of a potentially infectious aerosol. The cotton mask
had no significant impact on the retention of airborne molds so the protective
role of such is questionable.
The molds belonging to Cladosporium, Aspergillus and Penicillium were the
most common in indoor air. While cotton and surgical masks similarly filtered
different genera of molds, in the airsamples taken through the FFP2 and FFP3
respirators only molds from the genus Cladosporium were detected. For a precise
interpretation of the results of this work, a study should be carried out using
sterile filters more suitable for the air sampling device, and correspond to the
surgical, FFP2 and FFP3 masks in their properties. The proposed research method
can also be optimized for testing new materials with more efficient retention
properties for the infectious and/or allergenic particles and molds, and as such
would provide more effective protection to the target groups of patients.

• Keywords (croatian): zaštitne maske; plijesni; vijabilne čestice plijesni
• Language: croatian
• Publication type: Scientific paper - Original scientific paper
• Publication status: Published
• Peer review: Peer review - domestic
• Publication version: Published version
• Journal title: Farmaceutski glasnik
• Numbering: vol. 78, no. 11-12, pp. 523-535
• p-ISSN: 0014-8202
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:163:550847
• Publication: 2022
• Type of resource: Text
• Access conditions: Open access
• Created on: 2023-02-02 09:11:04