Researchers use electricity to restore efficiency of N95 masks

Though the N95 mask is meant only to be used one time, serious shortage has led to a worldwide effort to develop decontamination and re-use procedures, the researchers said. — AFP

Can you charge a used N95 mask to restore its filtration ability so it's as good as new again? In a report by IEEE Spectrum, Technion-ITT biophysics professor Dov Levine said: "Well, it turns out you can."

Levine and fellow researcher Shankar Ghosh at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in India showed that a used N95 mask that has been decontaminated can be "rejuvenated" with a jolt of electricity that restores its electrostatic charge.