The coronavirus infection can be killed by a newly developed face mask with heat using a phone charger. According to News Channel 8's latest report, the reusable face mask was developed by Israeli researchers. The researchers designed the face mask with a USB port that can be used to connect to a power source such as a standard mobile phone charger.
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The innovation uses a design that heats an inner layer of carbon fibers up to 158 degrees Celcius, which is the temperature claimed to be enough to kill the novel coronavirus and other viruses.
"The main issue was to assist the medical crew in order that they have as much as possibilities to use and re-use the same mask itself," said one of the Israeli scientists, Professor Yair Ein-Ein.
The researchers explained that the users of the newly developed mask should not wear it while it is plugged in since the disinfection process takes about 30 minutes. A valve at the front and bands to hold it in place around the head makes the prototype's appearance similar to the N95 mask.
New mask kills COVID-19 using heat from phone charger, can be used 20x: Nanosponges neutralizes coronavirus infection
Although the face mask may give promising results, the team of researchers from Technion University stated that the newly developed masks are not environmentally friendly or economically friendly. The designers wanted to devise a practical alternative to disposables since face masks are in such high demand across the globe during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
"The medical world always was moving towards non-reusable or disposable but when you have a crisis that you need five billion masks in 2020, in 2021 worldwide, five billion, you have to realize that this is not economic or environmentally friendly," said Ein-Ein. "Not at all. You have to make it reusable and friendly and this is our solution," They claimed that the face masks can be re-used at least 20 times without affecting its effectiveness.
Meanwhile, scientists have discovered nanosponges that can possibly intercept a COVID-19 infection. According to Science Daily's latest report, experts claimed that the nanoparticles in human immune cell membranes and human lung cell membranes can make the novel coronavirus to lose its ability to reproduce and infect host cells by attracting and neutralizing the SARS-CoV-2 virus in cell culture.
Engineers at the University of California San Diego developed the nanosponges, which were then tested by the researchers at Boston University. The nano scale-particles were called nanosponges because of its ability to soak up toxins and harmful pathogens.
Lab experiments revealed that nanosponges, both lung cell and immune cell types, can make SARS-CoV-2 lose 90% of its "viral infectivity" in a dose-dependent manner.
