Effectiveness of decontamination methods in tissue masks with ultraviolet light and ozone gas

• Autor(a) principal: Alves, Débora Batista Pereira
• Data de Publicação: 2021
• Outros Autores: Saraiva, Lídia Lira, Souza, Helen Patricia de Oliveira Duarte, Mota, Mara Soares de Almeida, Santana, Drielly Lima
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Research, Society and Development
• Texto Completo: https://rsdjournal.org/index.php/rsd/article/view/22846
• topic: Efetividade; Métodos de descontaminação; Máscaras; Luz UV-C; Ozônio.; Effectiveness; Decontamination methods; Masks; UV-C light; Ozone.; Eficacia; Métodos de descontaminación; Máscaras; Luz UV-C; Ozono.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a significant increase in the consumption of Personal Protective Equipment, causing a shortage of masks for health professionals, and tissue masks played a fundamental role in containing the transmission of viral and bacterial diseases in the general population. Given the demand for the use of masks, there was a need to research new antiseptic agents that could provide their reuse. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the efficacy of ozone and UV-C light decontamination processes in protective masks for non-professional use in different types of tissues, in view of experimental contamination by S. aureus. The masks were cut into small pieces and contaminated with a 108 CFU/ML solution and compared with the Mac Farland scale at 0.5, decontaminated with ozone gas and UV-C. The results showed efficiency in both processes, emphasizing a better performance of ozone gas showed in relation to UV-C. The distance from the sample in relation to the decontamination apparatus, the exposure time and the UV-C and ozone equipment model may influence the achievement of more efficient results in relation to decontamination. Even with the wide variety of chemicals available, it is sought to reduce microorganisms of masks with UV-C or ozone, as an alternative form, without structurally altering the tissues, and compromising their efficiency. The study can contribute to the launch of more equipment that uses this type of decontamination, making this process simpler and cheaper for the population.