Table 1 The materials and standards, advantages, disadvantages, and applicable scenes of common types of masks
From: Effectiveness and safety of medical masks in the prevention of respiratory infections: a review
Materials and standards | Advantages | Disadvantages | Applicable scene | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Fabric masks | • Fabrics (cotton, silk, nylon, etc.) • No standardization in design | • Readily available • Washable and reusable | • Less protective • Not tightly sealed | • Daily lives • Unsuitable for healthcare |
Medical masks | • The three-ply (three-layer) design, with two layers of nonwoven fabric and a melt-blown fabric layer in the middle. • Standards such as China’s YY 0469–2011, Europe’s EN 14683, and US’s ASTM F2100 | • Inexpensive • Microbial filtration • Blood resistance | • Not tightly sealed • Disposable | • General medical environments • Unsuitable for high-risk environments |
N95/KN95 | • Nonwoven fabric, hot air cotton, and melt-blown fabric. (5-layer structures) • Standards such as: NOISHa 42 CFR Part 84, GB19083-2010 | • Tightly sealed (internal leakage lower than 8%) • High filtration efficiency (≥ 95% protection against particles larger than 0.3 μm) | • Expensive • Discomfortable • Not readily available | • Used in high-risk environments |