Smart Mask: History
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Contributor:
Jingcheng Li
,
Jing Yin
,
Seeram Ramakrishna
,
Dongxiao Ji

The concept of “intelligence” in a material refers to its ability to sense, respond or react to external stimuli or changes in environmental conditions. Heated research interests have focused on the synthesis, optimization and application of materials that can respond to their environment or adjust their properties given external stimuli. Increased involvement of such intelligent or smart materials is witnessed in filtration membrane design. Face masks as wearables with integrated multifunctional sensors that detect human body physiological signals and surrounding environmental status have broadened the practical applications of their conventional function as air filters. 

  • smart wearables
  • respirator
  • sensor
  • intelligent materials

1. Introduction

Mask can be a necessary, reasonable and effective non-pharmaceutical intervention against rival agents that travel and are carried by aerosol and droplets, in many cases, to reduce the transmission efficiency of virus and its secondary transmission [1][2][3]. Taking the fight against COVID-19 as an example, Leung and coworkers reported that the decrease in virus transmission rate is shown to be nearly linear, proportional to the product of mask effectiveness and coverage rate [2]. This means that with timely and comprehensive application of masks, a secondary wave of COVID-19 can be effectively prevented together with other non-pharmaceutical measures. Notably, they proved that even relatively ineffective face masks, if adopted broadly, still shield virus in community transmission, alleviate hospitalization and decrease deaths. The use of face masks helps the general public by providing both prevention of illness for healthy ones and transmission of asymptomatic [4]. Larger droplets settle down easily due to gravity, while respiratory droplets and aerosols with a smaller size (<5 μm) carry and help viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 transmit [5]. These airborne transmissions through aerosols and droplets efficiently fasten the virus spread among human and/or animals, and eventually provoke pandemic outbreaks.
On the other hand, as an effective personal protection procedure, wearing face masks helps protect both the wearer and the others who surround them. In this case, a mask as a filtering device also functions as a “source control” [6][7], preventing the wearer’s respiratory droplets and particles from traveling into the air and onto other susceptible people or objects during coughing, sneezing or talking, especially when the wearer is suffering from respiratory diseases.
The necessity of wearing face masks lies not only in fighting pandemics such as COVID-19. Apart from providing protection against the spread of respiratory disease, in the post-pandemic state, masks serve as an effective PPE in workplaces, as some hazards might remain despite engineering controls and safe systems of work are in place. For example, depending on filtration efficiency defined from various national and international standards, masks can filter out particles with a size as small as 10–500 nm [8], and mitigate odor, smell or toxic gases to some extent if equipped with absorbing medium to convert them into less harmful forms (Figure 1). Specifically, solid particulate matter that can be trapped and held in a mask filter includes large particles such as grain or/and pollen (15 μm), respiratory droplets (5–10 μm), to smaller ones that are harder to trap, such as dust particle (1–10 μm), fume and smoke (0.4–0.7 μm). Mask helps to filter out these particulate matters that may cause allergic reactions or even biological harm—microorganisms like viruses and bacteria (0.1–3 μm) that could lead to infection [9][10][11]. Additionally, filters have been designed to protect against both solid particles and liquid particles (mists, fine sprays and aerosols). For instance, masks equipped with gas absorption respiratory cartridge filters mitigate the harm from gaseous chemical harm, which includes Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) that evaporate easily and can produce strong odors, and inorganic gaseous pollutants that have different effects on human health and the environment, such as carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), ammonia (NH3), chlorine (Cl2), formaldehyde (HCHO) and Radon (Rn) [12]. VOCs can have both short-term and long-term health effects, such as headaches, eye and respiratory irritation, and even cancer. It is important to take proper precautions when working with or around products that contain them, such as paints, cleaning supplies, building materials, and sources like vehicle exhaust and industrial emissions [13].
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Figure 1. Mask filters out pathogens from the environment and provides wearers with quality air.

2. Filtration Strategies in Masks

Filtration of gas refers to the physical process by which a porous filtering medium, in many cases fibrous material, traps and eliminates particles when a gas stream passes through it, thus enhancing the quality or purity of the filtered product [14][15][16]. The fundamental purpose of using a mask is to filter out particles in the air that can be harmful to our health. Currently available masks, either as research prototypes or commercial products in the market, have been adopting diverse strategies but share the same goal of making the filtration media work with a higher efficiency and lower pressure drop.

2.1. Structural Design and Filtration Mechanism

A layer-structured mask is generally composed of several layers, each serving an individual purpose: an essential filter layer to capture and block particles, a hydrophobic layer to protect the mask from possible exposure to droplets and liquids, and a supporting layer to hold up the whole mask and comfortably contact the wearer’s skin. The filtration efficiency and other additive functionalities of masks are largely dependent on the structure of the filtering media, in most cases, nanofiber membranes. Among various types of mask filtration media, fiber-based filters, porous activated carbon, or porous ceramics, filters with a fiber base have been found to be used widely due to their edges in versatility of production, adjustable structure combination and morphology [17].
A properly designed structure supports and realizes the optimization of a mask’s performance, including air filtration. For example, a nanofibrous membrane prepared by electrospinning that possesses a bead-on-string structure significantly improves its air filtration performance, as shown by its higher filtration efficiency and lower pressure drop compared with a smooth structure [18][19][20]. This is because nanofibers with such a unique structure have an increased inter-fiber distance, hence resulting in a decreased volume fraction, making it easier for air to flow through.
On the other hand, nanofibers are used not only for its functionality of filtration, but also to fulfil the demands of achieving other purposes and realizing combined functionalities for the mask due to their unique structure, such as self-powered sensors when introduced with PE/TE mechanisms [21][22][23]. This generally comes from the inherent property of specific polymer material used for nanofiber production, in that the variation in polarity and arrangement of the polymer molecular chain leads to divergent abilities of piezoelectric responses when applying pressure, or triboelectric effects when periodically contact and separate with another material properly selected with divergent affinity to get or lose.
Another aspect to consider during structure design is hierarchy. By creating a nanostructure, it is possible to control the fundamental properties of materials without changing their chemical composition. In other words, the multi-level structural design of nanofibers can lead to specific structures that hold unique functionality that greatly improves filtering performance greatly [17][24][25], which is exemplified in the designs of nanofiber with honeycomb [26], beads-on-string [27], nano nets [28], or lotus leaf inspired structures [29] fabricated by electrospinning. For example, a schematic of hierarchically grown ultra-fine SiO2 nanofilaments on a scaffold poly(m-phenylene isophthalamide) (PMIA) network with zooming in scale levels, as shown downwards on the picture [30]. This hybrid double network membrane efficiently filters out PM2.5 and PM10 particles, with significant improvement compared with a bare PMIA membrane that does not have a hierarchical structure, of which the removal efficiency reached 97.33% and 98.48%, respectively. 
PM particles can be captured mechanically by the filter through impaction, interception, diffusion or electrostatic attraction. It is clear that particles with diameters bigger than the filter’s pore size will be stopped and trapped. For particles that possess a smaller size, different capturing mechanisms apply [15]. For airstream passing through the filter too rapidly for the carried particles to adjust their streamlines, particles will be trapped by inertial impaction and prevented from continuing their routes. This mechanism relies on inertia and usually occurs for comparatively larger particles [16]. 

2.2. Material Selection

Diverse materials have been adopted as filter media, subject to specific needs and requirements. Generally, traditional air filters involve air filters made by porous membrane or micron-grade filtration medium, such as ultra-fine glass fiber and melt-blown electret micron-fiber, while increasing recent focus on electrospun nanofiber and other functional filtering materials contributes to the development of modern filter materials with better filtration performances thanks to their higher porosity and thinner fiber diameter (Figure 2). Millimeter- and micron-level particulate filtration materials, such as charcoal and granular activated carbons, are widely used traditional filtration media due to their heat resistance, chemical resistance, and price advantages. These advantages help them become the mainstream filtration material for mask filters. However, as far as they serve well on some occasions, the issue exists that their filtration efficiency decreases rapidly as filtered particles accumulate and block the pores, thereby increasing air resistance and making masks made by these materials unsuitable to wear [31][32][33][34].
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Figure 2. Mask filtration material development: a trend to higher porosity and improved filtration efficiency.

2.2.1. Nanofiber-Based Filters

Conventional filtration materials have certain limitations when it comes to fine particle excerpts, especially with particulate materials of less than 2.5 nm [35][36]. On the other hand, filters with nanofibrous materials have shown a higher capacity to hold contaminate, a prolonged work life, and improved filtration efficiency due to their high porosity, favorable nanoscale inter-connectivity, and fine pore size [37]. Thus, nanofiber-based filtration media in different forms, such as nanoparticle-doped fibers, sing-polymer-based fibers, or multi-polymer composites, have garnered significant popularity [38], and made them an excellent choice for base material in PPE, such as respiratory protection against high dust concentration in coal mining workplaces [17]. Among nanofiber-based filters, nanofibers prepared by the electrospinning approach are of the most interest. Electrospun nanofibers block fine particles due to their high specific areas and porous structure with tunable diameters [39].

2.2.2. Functional Additives

Functionalities can be achieved intrinsically or introduced extrinsically, as is fulfilled by the filtering material itself or, more commonly, the latter case, by integrating electric components on the commercially available surgical masks. Various additives with unique inherent characteristics have been developed to introduce new functionalities or properties for enhanced nanofibers. For instance, silver particles or silver nanowires are often used for antibacterial purposes, incorporation of iron oxide nanoparticles often contributes for magneto responsive properties [40][41][42][43], or introducing hydrophilic or negatively charged surface modifications for the antifouling ability of filtration membranes [34][44].

2.3. Electrospinning as an Approach for Filter Membrane

Manufacturing methods of mask filter membranes vary, where the functional filtration layer of the most commonly used surgical masks is usually composed of nonwoven fabrics, which provide better filtration performance than woven and knit fabrics because nonwoven fabric-based filters have thicker 3D structures and increased distance to stop the passing particles [45][46]. Among the three main nonwoven fiber manufacturing methods, as in melt-blowing, electrospinning and spun-bonding, fibers produced by the first two approaches possess finer pore size and smaller fiber diameter. Comparative evaluations of nanofiber-based filter and melt-blown filter have shown that the former showed excellent reusability as mask over melt-blown filter and that it exhibited consistent high performance in terms of filtration efficiency even after 10 spraying cleaning cycles when preserving its higher water vapor transmission permeability and good hydrophobicity [47], making it a suitable choice for wide use in mask applications. Therefore, electrospinning, as the most common approach to nanofiber production, should be emphasized. Electrospinning provides feasibility and realization for the design and formation of nanofiber membranes with versatile yet unique structures and morphologies [46][48][49][50].

3. Mask More Than a Filter

Apart from the filtration capability, as the fundamental function of a mask, there are many more roles and applications a mask can fit to fulfil complex application requirements when introduced expanded features and additional functionalities from healthcare, sports tracking, fashion and military applications. Developing new functionalities for wearables, including smart masks, has become a new trend and has the potential to revolutionize the role these devices play in our daily life, reflected by the heated focus on self-cleaning, sensing, actuating and communicating through introducing new materials, structures and nano-coatings [51][52][53]. Many bulky machines and cumbersome wires connect them for communication, which substantially limits patient’s mobility. Not only for the comfort of the person under test, to accurately reflect the medical condition of the object also requires a continuous monitoring session to track signals in real time. Thus, a personalized portable device is needed to seamlessly monitor the physiological signals of the wearer. Tailoring polymeric fibrous filters with multi-functionalities has shown potential in numerous filtration applications. The properties of interest include toxic gas absorption, antibacterial film, anti-corrosive film, etc.

3.1. Intelligent and Green Wearables

For smart masks fulfilling the post-pandemic scheme and an intelligent future, there are versatile approaches to design and fabricate respirators that are integrated with smaller, portable or even personalized specific functional modules. At the same time, sustainable materials that are degradable, recyclable or environmentally friendly have caught more attention with increased awareness of developing a circular economy [54][55][56], such as biodegradable and biocompatible materials [57][58][59] especially for skin interface sensors. For example, biocompatible and environmentally friendly options including polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) or multiscale porous polystyreneblock-poly(ethylene-ran-butylene)-block-polystyrene (SEBS) as substrates, hydrophobic poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) and AgNWs as conductive materials are particularly suitable for wearable electronic applications [60][61][62][63]. Therefore, it is vital to have the principle of sustainable development as a frame within which to derive wearable design.

3.2. Macroscopic Physiological Signal Monitoring

roaches are desirable for physiological signal monitoring [64]. Apart from conventional clinical practice that provides health characterization at considerable cost, wearable systems have great potential thanks to their cost-effective nature and continuous utility [51][65][66]. In fact, a wide range of biosignals generated around the face area are eligible to be captured, observed and analyzed by mask. For general health care monitoring purposes, a set of biosignals on a macroscopic level captured by appropriate sensors attached/integrated in masks serves as an indicator of the health status of the wearer. These captured signals, such as heart rate, respiratory rate and blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) level, require subsequent processes to interpret and explain. This makes smart masks incorporated with sensors that react to biosignals or environmental stimuli as wearable healthcare possible [67]. A miniaturized system is preferred due to the relatively limited area for sensor implementation on the mask, while integrating machine learning techniques for the analytical evaluation of complex relationships [68][69][70] is another approach.
Respiration rate, together with blood pressure, body temperature and heart rate, are decisive physiological signals that reflect the object’s health condition. Respiratory detection with rate and depth information is a vital metric and provides diagnostic reference for health status estimation of patients that irregularities in respiratory patterns can be a predictor of potentially grievous clinical events [71][72], or an indicator to characterize illness such as obstructive apneas for Parkinson’s disease [73]. With face masks covering the wearer’s noses, it is undoubtedly convenient to acquire respiratory information. The locations of the integrating sensors on the masks directly determine the sensing functionality.
For mask applications, it is often expected that the mask will serve as a strain or tactile sensor that is attached or integrated to itself and, at the same time, conformable and comfortable for the user to wear. In these cases, the user’s activities, such as breathing or coughing, introduce a change in the air pressure within the wearer and mask, resulting in tiny movement or deformation. The movements captured are the stimuli. For example, Li et al. developed a piezoresistive sensor for masks composed of MXene-coated tissue paper that responds to pressure changes induced by human movements [74]. 
On the other hand, face masks can sense and reflect environmental information from air quality, and environmental temperature to humidity level surrounds the user as well. For instance, Escobedo et al. proposed a wireless gaseous CO2 level detector deposited on a flexible tag that sticks to the inner side of a standard FFP2 facemask [75]. The developed CO2 sensor works with the mechanism that the acid–base indicator inflects the luminescence level of an inorganic phosphor La2O2S:Eu, and with UV LED and color sensor, the acidity of gaseous CO2 is indicated. The sensing module together with UV LED, color detector, temperature sensor and supporting circuits were printed on a flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. Apart from CO2 level, face masks with temperature or humidity sensing capabilities are developed by researchers as well. Firat et al. developed a respiration sensor based on cellulose paper, with printed graphite as electrodes and attached in a surgical mask, in response to humidity level change [76].

3.3. Disease Diagnosis and Monitoring

Bio-integrated wearable devices offer economic characterization, portable health care analysis, and continuous monitoring are suited to fill in gaps in conventional medical practice [64]. For example, mask-based wearables for glucose monitoring [77] where metal nanowires with enzyme modified electrodes for H2O2 and glucose sensing, and other types of nanowire modified electrodes for different types of sensors for chemical sensors and biosensors [78]. Physiological signals captured by smart masks offer a convenient approach for disease diagnosis and monitoring, and when equipped with biosensors, they are specifically suitable for respiratory diseases such as COVID-19 since the evidence of abnormal breathing patterns reflects directly on masks. Nguyen et al. reported a biomolecule detection embedded on a facemask with synthetic biology sensors that provides SARS-CoV-2-sensing though freeze-dried reactions on a microfluidic paper-based analytical device, which prototype rapidly and feasible to regulate optimization of the multi-step reactions [79]. When the virus accumulates in the mask with the patients’ respiratory behavior and flows through the puncture of the water blister reservoir, viral particles are transported from the collection sample pad to the microfluidic paper-based analytical device downstream due to capillary action. The three reaction zones are separated by PVA to ensure sufficient time delay for incubation. After lyophilized lysis reagents, isothermal amplification targeting for a nonoverlapping region of the SARS-CoV-2 S gene and amplified dsDNA amplicon detection, a lateral flow assay strip visualized the results. Notably, this mask-based biosensor doesn’t require laboratory equipment or specialists like other nucleic acid testing demands; it operates on an autonomous base and offers safe, efficient testing without further concerns.

This entry is adapted from the peer-reviewed paper 10.3390/bios13020205

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