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. 2020 Jul 1;6(4):278.
doi: 10.18063/ijb.v6i4.278. eCollection 2020.

3D Printed and Electrospun, Transparent, Hierarchical Polylactic Acid Mask Nanoporous Filter

Haijun He  1 , Min Gao  2 , Balázs Illés  3 , Kolos Molnar  1   4
Affiliations

3D Printed and Electrospun, Transparent, Hierarchical Polylactic Acid Mask Nanoporous Filter

Haijun He et al. Int J Bioprint. .

Erratum in

  • ERRATUM.
    [No authors listed] [No authors listed] Int J Bioprint. 2020 Sep 17;6(4):309. doi: 10.18063/ijb.v6i4.309. eCollection 2020. Int J Bioprint. 2020. PMID: 33102924 Free PMC article.

Abstract

Face masks are becoming one of the most useful personal protective equipment with the outbreak of the coronavirus (CoV) pandemic. The entire world is experiencing shortage of disposable masks and melt-blown non-woven fabrics, which is the raw material of the mask filter. Recyclability of the discarded mask is also becoming a big challenge for the environment. Here, we introduce a facile method based on electrospinning and three-dimensional printing to make changeable and biodegradable mask filters. We printed polylactic acid (PLA) polymer struts on a PLA nanofiber web to fabricate a nanoporous filter with a hierarchical structure and transparent look. The transparent look overcomes the threatening appearance of the masks that can be a feasible way of reducing the social trauma caused by the current CoV disease-19 pandemic. In this study, we investigated the effects of nozzle temperature on the optical, mechanical, and morphological and filtration properties of the nanoporous filter.

Keywords: Coronavirus disease-19; Electrospinning; Mask nanoporous filter; Nanofibers; Three-dimensional printing.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) The schematic of the fabrication of mask filter with the combination of three-dimensional (3D) printing and electrospinning, and the different components (aluminum foil, nanofiber mat, 3D printed mesh, and nanofiber filter); (B) printing in progress; (C) after printing; (D) peel-off (the sample is reflected on the base plate).
Figure 2
Figure 2
(A) Scanning electron microscope image of polylactic acid (PLA) electrospun nanofibers; (B) differential scanning calorimetry curve of PLA electrospun nanofibers.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Optical images of the samples with different background (A) black background; (B) white background; (C) optical microscopic image of the filter with 210°C; (D) optical microscope image of the filter with 230°C (E) ultraviolet–visible spectra of the reference samples and filters; (F) the stress-strain curves of the filters with different nozzle temperatures.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(A) Filtration efficiency of nanoporous filters with various particle size, (B) pore size distribution of nanoporous filter printed with different temperatures, (C) the filtration efficiency (wt%) of nanoporous filters with various stacking layers, (D) scanning electron microscope image of the nanoporous filter after filtration. Inset is the bent single-layered filter.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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