Polymer Materials for Respiratory Protection: Processing, End Use, and Testing Methods

The COVID-19 occurrence is causing a global request for effective measures aimed at mitigating the infection spread. Facemasks have been identified as an essential device for people to protect themselves as well as the others from aerosol containing virus. Facemasks provide a critical barrier, reducing the number of infectious viruses or bacteria in exhaled breath. The present review describes the most relevant literature studies on materials and processing technologies used for facemask development and testing. Antibacterial and antiviral treatments are considered. Testing methods for measuring the actual performance are explained in detail. Strategies related to end use are analyzed in terms of reuse, the sanitization process, and recycling. This work derives from a synergic, multidisciplinary, and interdepartmental collaboration in the workgroup of Tuscia University, founded in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, aimed at providing scientific support and information on facemask materials.