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Israeli Masks with Anti-Pathogen Fabric Enter USA Market

The Israeli startup Sonovia which sped up efforts to manufacture masks using its anti-pathogen fabric at the start of the coronavirus crisis in Israel, has now become a commercial business ready to launch sales. Israeli masks designed with unique anti-pathogen fabric have now entered the USA market. The company’s technology is based on a lab-scale sonochemical process that was developed at Bar-Ilan University. Sonovia started manufacturing its product in March 2020 at a plant near Nahariya when Israel had only 200 patients and has sold 30,000 masks. Sonovia uses lower-cost, metal-oxide nanoparticles, to impart antibacterial protection. The research found the one-step process to be effective. Ultrasonic irradiation causes the formation of antimicrobial metal-oxide nanoparticles and actively impregnates them into textile fibers. Moreover, those fabrics impregnated with the zinc and copper oxides were shown to retain significant antibacterial activity even after 100 wash cycles at 75ºC. (VFI News)