Canadian-made mask proven to be first to deactivate coronavirus

A team of scientists at the University of Toronto has confirmed the first mask that deactivates coronavirus.

The researchers tested and established that the virus SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, cannot be “recovered” after being applied to a TrioMed Active mask.

The Canadian company is focused on the “development and manufacturing of novel antimicrobial products that help prevent the spread of infection and disease.”

Within minutes, the external surface of the TrioMed Active mask deactivates over 99% of COVID-19 suspension.

According to a study published in the Lancet Microbe, the coronavirus can stay infectious on the outer layer of a mask for up to seven days. And on average, people touch their faces 23 times per hour, according to a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control.

CNW Group/i3 BioMedical Inc.

“These two scientific publications further demonstrate the major deficiency in the level of protection for all wearers of current masks,” a report provided by i3 BioMedical Inc. reads.

The founder and CEO of i3 Biomedical said that this testing proves TrioMed’s leading position in this specific technology in the global fight against the coronavirus.

According to a report, the mask incorporates TrioMed’s technology and “provides an advanced level of active protection for healthcare workers and the general population.”

The company has a patented antimicrobial technology that comprises their entire line of medical products.

“The TrioMed Active Mask is the first and only respiratory protection that is scientifically proven to deactivate the virus causing COVID-19, therefore drastically reducing the risk of contamination for the wearer,” says Pierre Jean Messier, founder and CEO of i3 Biomedical Inc.

The U of T scientists, led by Professor Scott Gray-Owen of the department of molecular genetics in the Faculty of Medicine, used their faculty’s high-tech containment level three (CL3) lab to test the efficacy of the TrioMed Active Mask’s antimicrobial coating.

“A big challenge for most people in the population who usually never wear surgical masks is comfort and fit. Because of this, people tend to be constantly adjusting their masks,” said Gray-Owen.

“So they’re either contaminating their hands or, if their hands are contaminated, they’re contaminating a mask that’s close to their face and maybe even depositing the virus there, which they might then inhale.”

When the antimicrobial coating was present on the masks, the scientists “could not recover any infectious virus from the suspension that had been applied to the mask.”

Grey-Owen said they “repeated the tests and this was a reproducible finding, so it was pretty clear that there was a difference between TrioMed coated and non-coated material.”

The University says that the CL3 lab, the only such facility in Toronto, was approached by I3 BioMedical on the recommendation of engineers at the Public Health Agency of Canada, said Gray-Owen, who is director of the lab.

According to Gray-Owen, while the CL3 lab is a research facility rather than a validation lab, “the I3 BioMedical testing project was taken on because of the potential of the antimicrobial coating product to contribute to curbing the spread of the virus, and the company’s stated desire to supply masks to the Canadian market.”