Survival of Microorganisms on Nonwovens Used for the Construction of Filtering Facepiece Respirators

Katarzyna Majchrzycka, Małgorzata Okrasa, Justyna Szulc, Anita Jachowicz and Beata Gutarowska
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Katarzyna Majchrzycka: Department of Personal Protective Equipment, Central Institute for Labour Protection—National Research Institute, Wierzbowa 48, 90-133 Łódź, Poland
Małgorzata Okrasa: Department of Personal Protective Equipment, Central Institute for Labour Protection—National Research Institute, Wierzbowa 48, 90-133 Łódź, Poland
Justyna Szulc: Institute of Fermentation Technology and Microbiology, Faculty Biotechnology and Food Science, Lodz University of Technology, Wólczańska 171/173, 90-924 Łódź, Poland
Anita Jachowicz: Institute of Fermentation Technology and Microbiology, Faculty Biotechnology and Food Science, Lodz University of Technology, Wólczańska 171/173, 90-924 Łódź, Poland
Beata Gutarowska: Institute of Fermentation Technology and Microbiology, Faculty Biotechnology and Food Science, Lodz University of Technology, Wólczańska 171/173, 90-924 Łódź, Poland

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 7, 1-11

Abstract: Filtering nonwovens that constitute the base material for filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) used for the protection of the respiratory system against bioaerosols may, in favourable conditions, promote the development of harmful microorganisms. There are no studies looking at the impact that different types of filtering nonwovens have on microorganism survival, which is an important issue for FFR producers and users. Five commercial filtering nonwovens manufactured using diverse textile technologies (i.e., needle-punching, melt-blown, spun-bonding) with different structural parameters and raw material compositions were used within our research. The survival of microorganisms on filtering nonwovens was determined for E. coli , S. aureus , B. subtilis bacteria; C. albicans yeast and A. niger mould. Samples of nonwovens were collected immediately after inoculum application (at 0 h) and after 4, 8, 24, 48, 72, and 96 h of incubation. The tests were carried out in accordance with the AATCC 100-1998 method. Survival depended strongly on microorganism species. E. coli and S. aureus bacteria grew the most on all nonwovens tested. The structural parameters of the nonwovens tested (mass per unit area and thickness) and contact angle did not significantly affect microorganism survival.

Keywords: filtering nonwovens; microorganisms survivability; filtering facepiece respirators; respiratory protection (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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