Naslov
Ispitivanje propusnosti različitih tipova zaštitnih maski za vijabilne čestice plijesni u zraku
(Permeability of different types of protective masks for airborne viable mold particles)

Autori
Pudić, Filip ; Jakšić, Daniela

Izvornik
Farmaceutski glasnik (0014-8202) 78 (2022), 11/12; 523-535

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u časopisima, članak, znanstveni

Ključne riječi
FFP2, FFP3, kirurške maske, maske za lice, plijesni, uzorkovanje zraka
(FFP2, FFP3, surgical masks, face masks, moulds, airsampling)

Sažetak
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 for 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. Interestingly, 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.

Izvorni jezik
Hrvatski

Znanstvena područja
Temeljne medicinske znanosti, Farmacija, Biotehnologija u biomedicini (prirodno područje, biomedicina i zdravstvo, biotehničko područje)

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