Analysis of SteraMist ionized hydrogen peroxide technology in the sterilization of N95 respirators and other PPE
Name
s41598-021-81365-7.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
1002.39 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
0e3d4981f1957f4f8e1198cad8276501
Author(s)
Cramer, Avilash K
Plana, Deborah
Yang, Helen
Carmack, Mary M
Tian, Enze
Sinha, Michael S
Krikorian, David
Turner, David
Mo, Jinhan
Li, Ju
Date Issued
2021
Journal
Scientific Reports
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Version
Final published version
Abstract
© 2021, The Author(s). The COVID-19 pandemic has led to widespread shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers, including of N95 masks (filtering facepiece respirators; FFRs). These masks are intended for single use but their sterilization and subsequent reuse has the potential to substantially mitigate shortages. Here we investigate PPE sterilization using ionized hydrogen peroxide (iHP), generated by SteraMist equipment (TOMI; Frederick, MD), in a sealed environment chamber. The efficacy of sterilization by iHP was assessed using bacterial spores in biological indicator assemblies. After one or more iHP treatments, five models of N95 masks from three manufacturers were assessed for retention of function based on their ability to form an airtight seal (measured using a quantitative fit test) and filter aerosolized particles. Filtration testing was performed at a university lab and at a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) pre-certification laboratory. The data demonstrate that N95 masks sterilized using SteraMist iHP technology retain filtration efficiency up to ten cycles, the maximum number tested to date. A typical iHP environment chamber with a volume of ~ 80 m3 can treat ~ 7000 masks and other items (e.g. other PPE, iPADs), making this an effective approach for a busy medical center.
MIT Department
Harvard University--MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1038/S41598-021-81365-7
