RIVERSIDE (CNS) - Several UC Riverside professors are examining ways to improve sterilization of surgical masks that can be reused amid supply constraints in the coronavirus emergency, university officials said today. Mechanical engineering professor Lorenzo Mangolini, along with bioengineering professors Justin Chartron and Joshua Morgan, are conducting research to identify whether low-temperature plasmas, or ionized gases, may be effective in cleansing masks that then can be worn multiple times. The trio, with the help of a few doctoral students, tested the practice using E. coli bacteria, intentionally applying it to masks, which were then exposed to low-temp plasma for several minutes. According to UCR, the masks were properly sterilized, removing all traces of the pathogen. S
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