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. 2021 Mar 4;120(14):2927–2942. doi: 10.1016/j.bpj.2021.02.039

Figure 3.

Figure 3

Optical transmittance of N95 mask materials and spectral sensitivity of viral RNA. (A) Colors of the visible spectrum. Wavelength ranges corresponding to different colors (R, red; O, orange; Y, yellow; G, green; B, blue; V, violet) and ultraviolet A, B, and C (UV-A, UV-B, UV-C) are shown. (B) Optical transmittance of the four layers of the 3M 8210 N95 mask (coverweb, filter 1, filter 2, and shell). The dotted line indicates the location of the strong 254-nm line of the spectrum of a low-pressure mercury-vapor lamp. (C) Germicidal action spectrum shows the wavelength-specific sensitivity of single-stranded RNA viruses. The sensitivity is calculated as the inactivation rate constants for viral infectivity normalized to the value at 254 nm, as determined for the MS2 bacteriophage (19). (D) Illustration of the five different experimental setups for transmittance measurement. Sample refers to the different mask materials. (E) Transmittance estimates for the four layers of the 3M 8210 mask using the five setups. The solid symbols correspond to our preferred transmittance values used in the models. Error bars correspond to the 95% CIs. To see this figure in color, go online.