Researchers from Freie Universität Berlin at the Institute for Animal and Environmental Hygiene and the Institut für Textiltechnik of RWTH Aachen University, short ITA, are collaborating on the topic of alternative personal protection equipment. As part of their research, they have tested innovative textiles for face masks that directly inactive SARS-CoV-2 virus particles. The testing was conducted in the context of the EIT Health Project ViruShield, supported by the European Union, with the objective to discover alternative filter materials for face masks in light of supply shortages and globally imbalanced supply chains for personal protective equipment.
While researchers at the Institut für Textiltechnik of RWTH Aachen University (ITA) conducted experiments on the chemical and physical properties of various textiles for face masks, researchers at Freie Universität Berlin were able to demonstrate that the textiles developed by Swiss firm Livinguard can reduce high amounts of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles by up to 99.9% within a few hours.