"Efficient Strategies for the Reuse of Surgical and FFP2/ KN95 Face Masks during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Home-Made and Ecological Choices for the Community"

The SARS CoV-2 is responsible for the severe acute respiratory syndrome (COVID-19) which has claimed numerous victims worldwide. The main symptoms reported in the scientific literature are represented by fever, cough, gastrointestinal disturbances, dysgeusia, and anosmia but currently the symptomatology is not clear, yet. The symptoms vary from one individual to another one, depending mostly on the age of the patients and their co-morbidities. Wearing surgical or FFP2/KN-95 face masks block the interpersonal transmissibility of the droplets containing the virus which are produced during speaking, breathing or coughing. We pondered the regeneration of this personal protective equipment in order to reduce the costs and the biological waste released into the environment. In our paper, we have described four strategies for the decontamination of surgical and FFP2/KN95 face masks. The steam iron and the washing machine are easily reproducible at home, while the thermostatically controlled bath and the autoclave require more advanced structures such as hospitals or scientific institutes. The regeneration methods ensure that both surgical and FFP2/ KN95 face masks maintain the same characteristics of the unused ones. After the regeneration process, we demonstrated the conservation of the structural proprieties of the polypropylene fibers of both masks by light microscope. The microbiological analyses of both regenerated masks showed the absence of the main pathogens that can infect the nasopharyngeal tract. Moreover, we showed that both regenerated surgical and FFP2/KN95 face masks maintained their waterproof properties. Finally, we demonstrated that the regenerated FFP2/KN95 face masks maintained their adequate fit by the qualitative fit testing.