Posted by Prof. bernard Martel (University of Lille, France) showed how the new cyclodextrin-based mask was developed from the in-lab optimization to the process scale-up, filtration performances, and various tests for measuring antibacterial and antiviral activity especially against human coronavirus HCoV-229E, including also safety and compliance with the EU regulations and with medical devices directives. Polypropylene nonwoven is the major material used for disposable masks production due to its low cost and to its very performing filtration efficiency. However, due to the chemical inertia and high sensitivity to temperature, conferring biocide properties to PP nonwoven at industrial scale is a technical and economical challenge. In 2011, Prof. Martel’s team had patented a process for biocide functionalization of filtering media through the immobilization of quaternary ammonium antiviral agents on fibers after coating the fibers with cyclodextrin polymer crosslinked with polycarboxylic acid. In May 2020, the French company Bioserenity invested in the up-scaling of this concept with the willpower of fast commercialization of self-decontaminating masks that occurred from February 2021 under the trademark Cidaltex®.
