UAE Researchers Find Electric Face Masks That Can Kill Viruses

Illustration of a face mask. (Wikimedia Commons/NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)

JAKARTA - Scientists in the UAE have discovered an electric face mask that they say is capable of killing the virus. This device has two electrodes that are capable of killing various types of viruses that enter on both sides, either completely destroying the virus or simply weakening its ability.

The UAE University team led by Dr. Mahmoud Al Ahmad, has patented the idea and is waiting for investors to produce their masks on a large scale.

Dr. Al Ahmad said, with investment, masks had to be made in large quantities and sold cheaply.

At this stage, the masks look like electrical strips that can be attached to various basic masks, rather than the bulky 'air purification' kits some other developers have released.

"These masks can be multi-layered," said Dr. Al Ahmad, an engineering professor who has been working on a COVID-19 research project since the start of the pandemic.

"One layer will have electrodes and there will be a gap between these electrodes to allow breathing. Whenever something comes in, like a virus, it will burn. Like a lamp that kills a mosquito in your house. It will kill it."

He further explained, even though the project was promising and the masks were proven to be able to kill the virus that causes COViD-19, the project could not run without investment.

"We can make electrodes using flexible metal, so it will be cheap with high volume. But we need funds," he said.

"The electrodes will be powered by a small coin battery, so there is no risk of electric shock for the wearer. They will not even notice the virus being stung because it is so small," he explained about the electricity in the mask.

He said the technology can be used on any clothing, not just masks, and the settings can be adjusted to target different types of viruses.

"Although the concept will require more development before being applied to personal protective equipment, this is a very good start in this direction."

In October, researchers at Khalifa University revealed they were working on masks that would filter out certain viruses, such as COVID-19 and flu, using nanotechnology that could slow or stop the spread of microorganisms.

Research has shown masks help prevent the spread of airborne viruses, such as the coronavirus.

Separately, a recent study found face masks reduced the number of coronavirus cases by 53 percent, although many experts say the research is flawed because it was largely observational.

They say people who wear masks tend to be more careful, in general, so they will naturally be associated with a lower number of Covid cases.

Experts say the real number may be more like a 10 percent to 20 percent reduction in the number of COVID-19 cases. That was confirmed by real-life evidence in a study in Bangladesh involving nearly 350,000 people.

The results showed masks reduced symptomatic infections by about 11 percent, according to the "gold standard" randomized controlled trial. The protective effect was even better for people over 60, almost 35 percent.