Carbon dot-polymer nanoporous membrane for recyclable sunlight-sterilized facemasks

Singh, Seema; Shauloff, Nitzan; Sharma, C. P.; Shimoni, Ran; Arnusch, Christopher J.; Jelinek, Raz

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2021.02.049

Cited by 36 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Generally, most COVID-19 studies have focused on its causes, origin, and its potential impact on water and air quality [18][19][20][21][22], while few of them have documented the possible personal protective equipment waste impact on the environment and the management strategy and approaches to address facemask waste disposal [23,24]. In this sense, recent studies have highlighted the urgent need for developing new management approaches to this kind of waste to avoid the environmental harm and health risks that could be caused by the disposal of facemasks and other PPE items [25]. Numerous studies have proposed solutions to tackle the increase in PPE waste and minimize their long-term impact on the environment and wildlife.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disposal Behavior of Used Masks during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Moroccan Community: Potential Environmental Impact

Mejjad

Cherif

Rodero

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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The spread of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) levied on the Moroccan authorities to increase their mask production capacity, which reached up to 12 million facemask units produced per day. This increase in personal protective equipment (PPE) production and consumption is an efficient tool to address the spread of COVID-19. However, this results in more plastic and microplastic debris being added into the land and marine environments, which will harm the ecosystem, wildlife, and public health. Such a situation needs deep individual behavior observation and tracking, as well as an assessment of the potential environmental impact of this new type of waste. For this reason, we assessed the Moroccan population’s behavior regarding the use and disposal of facemasks and gloves. An exploratory survey was prepared and shared via social media and email with the population of Rabat-Salé-Kénitra and Casablanca-Settat regions. Additionally, we calculated the estimated number and weight of daily and weekly PPE used and generated by the studied regions. The survey showed that 70% of the respondents threw their discarded masks and gloves in house trash or trash bins after their first use, whereas nearly 30% of respondents admitted that they did not wear masks because they did not leave their homes during the lockdown, while from the 70% of facemask users, more than five million (equivalent to 40,000 kg) of facemasks would be generated and disposed of daily by the community of these regions, which presents 35% of the total engendered facemask waste in Morocco. Accordingly, the environment impact of facemasks showed that the greenhouse gas footprint is about 640 kT CO2 eq./year for the whole of Morocco, while the energy footprint is around 60,000 GWh/year. Furthermore, an urgent multidisciplinary environmental assessment of the potential impact of PPE must be conducted among the 12 Moroccan regions. This study demonstrated the real impact of the COVID-19 PPE on human behavior and the environment and suggests a need for providing new didactic management of facemasks and gloves.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disposal Behavior of Used Masks during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Moroccan Community: Potential Environmental Impact

Mejjad

Cherif

Rodero

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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“…The results presented a filtration efficiency > 98%, indicating that this composite material has ideal properties for the production of protective equipment, such as the N95 mask layer. Singh et al [ 107 ] proposed the synthesis of nanoporous membranes comprising carbon dots and poly(vinylidene fluoride). They demonstrated their potential use for self-sterilizing recyclable face masks.…”

Section: Coating Strategies Using Polymeric Matricesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polymeric surfaces with biocidal action: challenges imposed by the SARS-CoV-2, technologies employed, and future perspectives

Castro

Costa

2021

J Polym Res

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The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that hygiene habits reduce the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus on contaminated surfaces. In this context, compounds with biocidal properties can act as surface coatings, especially in hospital environments, a source of pathogenic microorganisms. Therefore, the purpose of this review was to report an overview of recent studies with biocidal agents, focusing on polymeric surface modification. Methods such as direct incorporation, direct deposition, and chemical deposition of the microbial agent on the polymeric surface and surface modification without a microbial agent were discussed. Despite several studies in the literature, antimicrobial materials still face challenges such as commercialization, material stability in post-processing, and guarantee of long cycles. Moreover, effectiveness, toxicity, and final cost must be balanced. We also discussed the concept of antiviral activity and the action mode of the materials. Inorganic, organic materials, nanocomposites, and biopolymers have been addressed as viral inhibitors of several diseases. Lastly, we explored the functional validation of polymeric surface through characterization techniques.

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“…The high surface-to-volume ratio and the multivalent character of particles, such as nanomaterials and quantum dots, allow for the attachment of ligands, which can in turn attach to the cell receptor and block viral entry into the cell. In this connection, researchers have discussed the antiviral activities of carbon quantum dots (CQDs) and their potential use as future antiviral materials [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. For example, Łoczechinet al [13] have investigated the effect of different functionalized CQDs on coronavirus growth and on the prevention of entrance to cells.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this case, 3 out of 7 tested CQDs were demonstrated to cause significant interreference with human coronavirus HCoV-229E-Luc infection in a concentration-dependent manner. A CQDnanoporous membrane was used for the preparation of sunlight-sterilized reusable face masks [12]. Boron-doped CQDs were also used for the experimental study of respiratory aerosol transport to the lungs in the treatment of bronchitis [15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deactivation of SARS-CoV-2 via Shielding of Spike Glycoprotein Using Carbon Quantum Dots: Bioinformatic Perspective

Ramezani

Dayer

Noorizadeh

et al. 2021

COVID

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The interaction of the spike (S) glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2 with angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) correlates with increased virus transmissibility and disease severity in humans. Two strategies may be considered for preventive or treatment purposes: the blockage of the ACE2 receptors or the shielding of receptor-binding domains (RBD) in the Sprotein of COVID-19, as well as the S2 cleavage site that is used by the furin enzyme of the host cells in the late phase of virus activation. Herein, the interaction of carbon quantum dots (CQDs) with the Sprotein of SARS-CoV-2 was investigated using molecular docking and molecular dynamics. CQD molecules were optimized by the HF/3-21G level of theory; the probable interactions between the CQDs with Sprotein were studied by blind docking mode, considering the Sprotein as the receptor and CQDs as ligands. Ethanol, folic acid, Favipiravir, two kinds of functionalized triangular hexagonal graphene, and four kinds of functionalized CQDs were studied on a comparative basis. The results show that OH and amine-functionalized CQDs tend to interact with three branches of Sprotein, especially RBD. The fact that they can block the S2 cleavage site leads to their potential use as a therapeutic agent.

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Carbon dot-polymer nanoporous membrane for recyclable sunlight-sterilized facemasks

Cited by 36 publications

References 35 publications

Disposal Behavior of Used Masks during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Moroccan Community: Potential Environmental Impact

Disposal Behavior of Used Masks during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Moroccan Community: Potential Environmental Impact

Polymeric surfaces with biocidal action: challenges imposed by the SARS-CoV-2, technologies employed, and future perspectives

Deactivation of SARS-CoV-2 via Shielding of Spike Glycoprotein Using Carbon Quantum Dots: Bioinformatic Perspective

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