COVID-19 : High-volume electrospinning of high-performance cellulose membranes required for N95-grade mask fabrication

COVID-19：N95 级口罩制造所需的高性能纤维素膜的大批量静电纺丝

基本信息

批准号：
549990-2020
负责人：
Cloutier, Sylvain
金额：
$ 3.64万
依托单位：
École de technologie supérieure
依托单位国家：
加拿大
项目类别：
Alliance Grants
财政年份：
2020
资助国家：
加拿大
起止时间：
2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=701315
关键词：
COVID 19 volume electrospinning performance

项目摘要

In close collaboration with our industrial partners, we propose to exploit our understanding and control of polymer electrospinning, in order to produce high-performance polymer-based filter membranes deposited on medical-grade cellulose substrates. In turn, these high-performance filter membranes will be produced in high volumes by our industrial partners for the manufacturing of N95-grade protection masks essential in the context of the current pandemic. In the last decade, we have done extensive research in order to successfully produce complex micro- and nano-engineered polymer structures using carefully-controlled co-jetting and electrospinning with our own specially-design system. Here, this extensive knowledge (and our apparatus) will be adapted and deployed within our industrial partner's facilities, in order to rapidly reach manufacturing-scale production capabilities. We propose to use medical grade cellulose substrates (produced in Gatineau, Québec) in order to deposit a biocompatible electrospun fiber layer. In order to achieve N95-grade specifications (95% air transmission while blocking 0.3+ microns particles and droplets), the electrospun film will have to be fused into a denser self-sustaining membrane filter using one of four techniques readily accessible by our team. As such, the key research objective of this project will be to explore four (4) manufacturing-ready post-processing techniques, namely: (1) infrared curing of the electrospun film using Adphos manufacturing equipment; (2) industrial hot-press equipment; (3) deposition on a pre-heated cellulose substrate using an industrial hot-bed carrier; and (4) photonic (flash) curing using Novacentrix manufacturing equipment in order to achieve a proper curing of the electrospun polymer film and obtain N95-grade membrane filters with good mechanical properties to be produced in high-volume and at relatively low costs.

通过与我们的工业合作伙伴密切合作，我们建议利用我们对聚合物静电纺丝的理解和控制，以生产沉积在医用级纤维素基材上的高性能聚合物过滤膜。由我们的工业合作伙伴大量生产，用于制造当前大流行背景下必不可少的 N95 级防护口罩。在过去十年中，我们进行了广泛的研究，以便成功生产复杂的微米和纳米工程聚合物。使用精心控制的结构使用我们自己专门设计的系统进行共喷射和静电纺丝。在这里，这些广泛的知识（和我们的设备）将在我们的工业合作伙伴的设施中进行调整和部署，以便快速达到制造规模的生产能力，我们建议使用医用级纤维素基材（在魁北克省加蒂诺生产）。为了达到 N95 级规格（95% 的空气透过率，同时阻挡 0.3+ 微米的颗粒和液滴），必须将电纺薄膜熔合成一层。使用我们团队容易获得的四种技术之一的更致密的自维持膜过滤器因此，该项目的关键研究目标将是探索四（4）种可立即制造的后处理技术，即： (1)使用Adphos制造设备对电纺薄膜进行红外固化； (2)工业热压设备； (3)使用工业热床载体沉积在预热的纤维素基材上；以及 (4) 使用 Novacenttrix 制造设备进行光子（闪光）固化为了实现电纺聚合物薄膜的适当固化，并获得具有良好机械性能的 N95 级滤膜，并以相对较低的成本进行大批量生产。