Covid-19, here is a tissue that traps and kills the coronavirus

It could be useful resting on surfaces to combat the spread of the virus in the surrounding environment by aerosol. The filter, based on a nickel sponge heated at high temperatures, managed to block and kill 99.8% of an air sample containing Sars-Cov-2

(photo: brightstars via Getty Images) new coronavirus innovation and inventiveness are not lacking for researchers all over the world. Today, for example, a group of researchers, including the University of Houston team, has created a new filter, composed of a nickel foam (a very thin and porous material) that thanks to specific physical characteristics is able to trap and kill the Sars-Cov-2 virus in the form of an aerosol, suspended in the air. The results are published in Materials Today Physics.

The study, a porous fabric

Scientists created the new filter using commercial nickel heated to 200 ° C which forms a kind of spongy tissue and pierced: the nickel foam is porous, flexible and electrically conducts and, thanks to these and other properties, it is able to block the new coronavirus. The researchers tested it at the Galveston National Laboratory, a laboratory from the University of Texas that deals with the study and diagnosis of tropical diseases. To do this, they used a sample of Sars-Cov-2 in the form of concentrated aerosol, placed in contact with the filter.

Investigations revealed that the material managed to annihilate 99.8% of the virus. Equally successful is the outcome using a sample of anthrax spores - the bacillus bacterium antracis, fortunately the cause of an extremely rare and highly fatal infection: in this case 99.9% of the spores have been eliminated from the filter.

Block infection via aerosol

The new technology provides a shield, explain the authors, a defense of the front line against the new coronavirus, but also against future threats to health, such as other pathogens, compared to the spread airborne , that is, through aerosol containing fragments of saliva is very small, less than 5 micrometers (thousandths of a millimetre) – it is understood that jigs and other measures are, and will always be essential. The Who reiterates that the infection occurs mainly through droplets and by aerosol may not be one of the most important routes of transmission , however, many scientists disagree and believe that the diffusion of the airborne is not to be underestimated.

“This filter” said Zhifeng Ren , “ it could be useful in airports and on board airplanes , in offices, in schools and on the cruises to stop the spread of infection Covid-19” . The intention is to propose a model based on the surfaces (on the desktop, for example) can purify the surrounding environment . The idea is to begin to disseminate the filter in the next step, first, in environments with a high frequency and therefore high risk of infection, such as schools, hospitals and health care facilities such as nursing homes and homes for the elderly, as well as public transport and airplanes , where the spacing is difficult – although there are and there will be other precautionary measures (including the replacement of the air every few minutes, and Hepa filters).