Lindsley et al.1515. Lindsley WG, Martin SB Jr, Thewlis RE, Sarkisian K, Nwoko JO, Mead KR, et al. Effects of Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) on N95 respirator filtration performance and structural integrity. J Occup Environ Hyg. 2015;12(8):509-17. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/15459624.2015.1018518 https://doi.org/10.1080/15459624.2015.10...
2015 |
Experimental study: - Particle penetration test. Flow resistance test. -Respirator tissue layer traction test. -Elastic strap stretch test. |
Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation. Number of cycles tested: five cycles. |
-90% of the material degraded after the second cycle in doses of 120-470 joules per square centimeter. -Braking force decreased and varied between models: up to 90%. -Resistance to flow increased. -Small increase (up to 1.25%) in particle penetration. |
Battelle1616. Battelle (US). Final Report for the Bioquell hydrogen peroxide vapor (HPV) decontamination for reuse of N95 respirators. Columbus, OH; 2016 [cited 2020 Apr 21]. Available from: Available from: https://www.fda.gov/media/136386/download https://www.fda.gov/media/136386/downloa...
2016 |
Experimental study: -Aerosol filtration performance tests. -Inhalation resistance test. -N95 mask sealing test. -Visual and tactile Integrity test. |
Hydrogen peroxide vapor. Number of cycles tested: fifty cycles. |
-Visual inspection. Fragmentation of the elastic strips after thirty cycles. -Sealing test - endured twenty cycles. -Efficiency of aerosol filtration and inhalation resistance endured fifty cycles. |
Lin et al.1717. Lin TH, Chen CC, Huang SH, Kuo CW, La CY, Lin WI. Filter quality of electret masks in filtering 14.6-594 nm aerosol particles: effects of five decontamination methods. PLoS ONE. 2017;12(10):e018621. doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0186217 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.018...
2017 |
Experimental study: - Particle penetration test. - Filtration test. |
Dry heat, moist hear autoclave, low temperature decontamination using ethanol, isopropanol and bleach. Number of cycles tested: six cycles. |
-Particle penetration greater than 27.9 nanometers increased by 5% and, for particles from 14.1 to 594 nanometers, increased by 8.6% after six cycles. -Liquid chemical methods destroyed the N95 mask filter after six cycles; -The N95 mask filter has melted in dry heat with temperatures higher than 100 0C. |
Mills et al.1818. Mills D, Harnish DA, Lawrence C, Sandoval-Powers M, Heimbuch BK. Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation of influenza-contaminated N95 filtering facepiece respirators. Am J Infect Control. 2018;46(7):e49-e55. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2018.02.018 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2018.02.0...
2018 |
Experimental study: -Test evaluated the decreased logarithmic concentration of the virus (105 viruses by filtering the face mask). |
Germicidal ultraviolet irradiation. Number of cycles tested: one cycle. |
-Reduction of viral load in 12 models of masks after dose of one joule per square centimeter. -Three models did not present significant decrease in the viral load tested. |
Kenney et al.1919. Kenney PA, Chan BK, Kortright K, Cintron M, Havill N, Russi M, et al. Hydrogen Peroxide Vapor sterilization of N95 respirators for reuse. MedRxiv [Preprint]. 2020 [cited 2020 Apr 20]: [6 p.]. Available from: Available from: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.24.20041087v1 . doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.03.24.20041087 https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/...
2020 |
Experimental Study: -Contamination of N95 masks by aerolized virus. -Visual and tactile Integrity test. |
Hydrogen peroxide vapor. Number of cycles tested: five cycles. |
-Visual inspection did not reveal any visible deformities. -Reduction of infectious virus load below the detection limit (reduced about 10% of the infectious dose applied in tissue culture). |
Price and Chu 1212. Stanford Medicine (US) [Internet]. Stanford; c2020 [cited 2020 Apr 16]. Price A, Chu L. COVID-19 Evidence Service: addressing COVID-19 face mask shortages [v1.1]; [about 1 screen]. Available from: Available from: https://stanfordmedicine.app.box.com/v/covid19-PPE-1-1 https://stanfordmedicine.app.box.com/v/c...
2020 |
Experimental study: Contamination of N95 masks with Escherichia coli.
|
Dry heat. Number of cycles tested: twenty cycles. |
-Maintenance of filtration performance in up to twenty cycles. -The method was efficient in decreasing 99% of Escherichia Coli.
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Oral et al.2020. Oral E, Wannomae KK, Connolly R, Gardecki J, Leung HM, Muratoglu O. Vapor H2O2 sterilization as a decontamination method for the reuse of N95 respirators in the COVID-19 emergency. MedRxiv [Preprint]. 2020 [cited 2020 Apr 11]: [6 p.]. Available from: Available from: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.11.20062026v2 . doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.11.20062026 https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/...
2020 |
Experimental study: -Filtration test. -Sealing test. -Contamination of N95 masks by SARS-Cov-2 (National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories/Level 4).
|
Hydrogen peroxide vapor. Number of cycles tested: one cycle. |
-Filtration and sealing not compromised. -Reduction of the infectious virus load to below the detection limit. |
Liao et al.2121. Liao L, Xiao W, Zhao M, Yu X, Wang H, Wang Q, et al. Can N95 respirators be reused after disinfection? how many times? ACS Nano. 2020;14(5):6348-56. doi: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.0c03597 https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.0c03597 ...
2020 |
Experimental study: - Filtration test. |
Germicidal ultraviolet irradiation. Number of cycles tested: ten cycles. Ethanol and 2% chlorine-based solution. Number of cycles tested: one cycle. Dry heat. Number of cycles tested: twenty cycles. |
-Ultraviolet irradiation by germicide: filtration efficiency has not been compromised. Signs of deterioration after ten cycles. -Ethanol and 2% chlorine-based solution: filtration degradation and impairment. -Dry heat: efficiency greater than 95% in filtration. |
Kumar et al.2222. Kumar A, Kasloff SB, Leung A, Cutts T, Strong JE, Hills K, et al. N95 mask decontamination using standard hospital sterilization technologies. MedRxiv [Preprint]. 2020 [cited 2020 Apr 10]: [9 p.]. Available from: Available from: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.05.20049346v2 . doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.05.20049346 https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/...
2020 |
Experimental study: -External contamination of the mask with the vesicular stomatitis virus or with Sars-CoV-2 (National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, Canada). -Sealing test. |
Hydrogen peroxide vapor. Number of cycles tested: ten cycles. Steam autoclave. Number of cycles tested: ten cycles. Ethylene oxide. Number of cycles tested: three cycles. |
-Hydrogen peroxide vapor: loss of the functionality of the N95 mask in five cycles. There was no recovery of viral load after ten cycles. -Steam autoclave: loss of N95 mask adjustment in the first cycle. -Ethylene oxide: maintenance of the N95 mask adjustment in the three cycles. There was no recovery of viral load after ten cycles. |
Pascoe et al.2323. Pascoe MJ, Probertson A, Crayford A, Durand E, Steer J, Castelli A, et al. Dry heat and microwave-generated steam protocols for the rapid decontamination of respiratory personal protective equipment in response to COVID-19-related shortages. J Hosp Infect. 2020;106(1):10-9. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2020.07.008 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2020.07.0...
2020 |
Experimental study: -Contamination of N95 masks with Staphylococcus aureus. -Filtration test. -Visual and tactile integrity. |
Dry heat and steam generated by a microwave oven. Number of cycles tested: three cycles. |
-Dry heat and steam generated by a microwave oven: the methods were efficient in decreasing 99% of Staphylococcus aureus ; -Dry heat and steam generated by microwave oven: loss of 50% in filtration efficiency. -Vapor generated by a microwave oven: loss of the integrity of the N95 mask after a cycle (deterioration of the metal clip and presence of holes), The elastic straps were not compromised. |
Xiang et al. 2424. Xiang Y, Song Q,Wenzhen G. Decontamination of surgical face masks and N95 respirators by dry heat pasteurization for one hour at 70°C. Am J Infec Control. 2020;48(1):880-2.doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2020.05.026 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2020.05.0...
2020 |
Experimental study: -Contamination of N95 masks with six strains of pathogenic bacteria, one of fungus and one of the H1N1 virus. -Filtration test. -Sealing test. |
Dry heat. Number of cycles tested: one cycle. |
-Elimination of strains and inactivation of the H1N1 virus. -Efficiency greater than 95% in filtration. -Maintenance of the N95 mask adjustment. |