Inventor of virus-killing mask needs funding
Posted Apr 7, 2020 4:15 pm.
Last Updated Apr 8, 2020 9:16 am.
CALGARY (660 NEWS) – The University of Alberta engineer who designed a salt-coated mask to kill viruses is hoping for more funding to get the product to market sooner.
As it stands, completion is still a year and a half away.
Hyo-Jick Choi, a biomedical engineer and assistant professor at the university, developed special salt-coated filters that can deactivate a pathogen like the coronavirus in minutes.
“So when the virus-carrying droplets sit on the surface of salt-coated filters, the salt dissolves and when the liquid evaporates… it basically destroys the virus,” said Choi.
The product is being developed through some private funding along with the University of Alberta and the non-profit national research organization Mitacs.
However, Choi says, in order to bring the mask filters to fruition sooner and to possibly be of help in this battle against COVID-19, they need more backing and more resources.
