tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Sci Rep
. 2021 Oct 6;11(1):19888.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-99414-6.
Effect of gamma irradiation on filtering facepiece respirators and SARS-CoV-2 detection
Khaled Al-Hadyan[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Ghazi Alsbeih[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Najla Al-Harbi[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Sara Bin Judia[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Maha Al-Ghamdi[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Akram Almousa[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Ibtihaj Alsharif[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Razan Bakheet[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Khaldoun Al-Romaih[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Maha Al-Mozaini[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Salem Al-Ghamdi[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Belal Moftah[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Rashed Alhmaid[SUP] 7 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
To cope with the shortage of filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, healthcare institutions were forced to reuse FFRs after applying different decontamination methods including gamma-irradiation (GIR). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of GIR on the filtration efficiency (FE) of FFRs and on SARS-CoV-2 detection. The FE of 2 FFRs types (KN95 and N95-3 M masks) was assessed at different particle sizes (0.3-5 µm) following GIR (0-15 kGy) delivered at either typical (1.65 kGy/h) or low (0.5088 kGy/h) dose rates. The detection of two SARS-CoV-2 RNA genes (E and RdRp4) following GIR (0-50 kGy) was carried out using RT-qPCR assay. Both masks showed an overall significant (P < 0.001) reduction in FE with increased GIR doses. No significant differences were observed between GIR dose rates on FE. The GIR exhibited significant increases (P ≤ 0.001) in the cycle threshold values (ΔCt) of both genes, with no detection following high doses. In conclusion, complete degradation of SARS-CoV-2 RNA can be achieved by high GIR (≥ 30 kGy), suggesting its potential use in FFRs decontamination. However, GIR exhibited adverse effects on FE in dose- and particle size-dependent manners, rendering its use to decontaminate FFRs debatable.
. 2021 Oct 6;11(1):19888.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-99414-6.
Effect of gamma irradiation on filtering facepiece respirators and SARS-CoV-2 detection
Khaled Al-Hadyan[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Ghazi Alsbeih[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Najla Al-Harbi[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Sara Bin Judia[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Maha Al-Ghamdi[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Akram Almousa[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Ibtihaj Alsharif[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Razan Bakheet[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Khaldoun Al-Romaih[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Maha Al-Mozaini[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Salem Al-Ghamdi[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Belal Moftah[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Rashed Alhmaid[SUP] 7 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 34615977
- DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-99414-6
Abstract
To cope with the shortage of filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, healthcare institutions were forced to reuse FFRs after applying different decontamination methods including gamma-irradiation (GIR). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of GIR on the filtration efficiency (FE) of FFRs and on SARS-CoV-2 detection. The FE of 2 FFRs types (KN95 and N95-3 M masks) was assessed at different particle sizes (0.3-5 µm) following GIR (0-15 kGy) delivered at either typical (1.65 kGy/h) or low (0.5088 kGy/h) dose rates. The detection of two SARS-CoV-2 RNA genes (E and RdRp4) following GIR (0-50 kGy) was carried out using RT-qPCR assay. Both masks showed an overall significant (P < 0.001) reduction in FE with increased GIR doses. No significant differences were observed between GIR dose rates on FE. The GIR exhibited significant increases (P ≤ 0.001) in the cycle threshold values (ΔCt) of both genes, with no detection following high doses. In conclusion, complete degradation of SARS-CoV-2 RNA can be achieved by high GIR (≥ 30 kGy), suggesting its potential use in FFRs decontamination. However, GIR exhibited adverse effects on FE in dose- and particle size-dependent manners, rendering its use to decontaminate FFRs debatable.