Siriraj faculty makes 7,000 washable nano masks to protect doctors
The Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital at Mahidol University, has made 7,000 washable masks for doctors to prevent Covid-19 and counter opportunists selling face masks at unreasonably high prices, faculty dean Prof Dr Prasit Watanapa said today (March 17).
The WIN (washable innovative nano) masks were developed under collaboration with the Higher Education Ministry, the Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research, the Thailand Centre of Excellence for Life Sciences and partner agencies such as Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna and the National Institute of Nuclear Technology with the support of the National Research Council of Thailand.
The mask has three layers – a Siriraj dust-tight woven-type fabric with a waterproof nano coat, antibacterial ZnO microfibre fabric and cotton fabric that can absorb droplets from coughing and sneezing. When the three layers come together, it is possible to filter dust and small body fluids of 2.5-5 microns. The masks are washable and are of standard quality tested in reliable laboratories.
As a first step, the faculty will deliver around 7,000 masks in sterilised packaging to major hospitals within three weeks. Money will be raised using crowd funding to make and distribute more of the masks.
Depending on the fund raising, it will take about a month for a standard factory to produce the masks.