Elstech has recently introduced and commercialized Sterilizing and Deodorizing Mask Filter based on its solid oxygen purifier (SOP) technology.
The company registered a patent for the product in July 2014.
The main ingredient of the SOP mask pad was initially developed by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to apply it to respiratory equipment for astronauts.
SOP is a unique material that provides the oxygen required for astronauts who have to stay in narrow spaces and removes carbon dioxide exhaled from the body. Besides, solid oxygen removes bad smells and bacteria emitted from the body with its strong oxidation ability.
The company is the first to develop a sheet-form filtering pad for masks and completed clinical trials. Elstech received approval from the Institutional Review Board through clinical trials conducted with 15 participants at Dongguk University Ilsan Hospital in 2013.
In the trials, the company confirmed the antibacterial effect, as the amount of bacterium strain after applying the oxygen sheet was reduced from the time it used the average sheet.
Also, Acinetobacter baumannii, before attaching the sheet and Klebsiella pneumonia bacteria after applying the regular sheet, was converted to normal microbiota after using the SOP sheets, demonstrating the latter’s antibacterial effect.
Early this year, FITI Testing Researcher and Institute also conducted an antibacterial test for Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumonia bacteria in an oxygen tissue and confirmed a 99.9 percent of the antibacterial rate.
In the case of using disposable air masks, most wearers feel constrained and short of breath because the humidity of the exhaled gas is near 100 percent moisture.
Applying the solid oxygen resolved the problem, however, as it can instantly remove moisture provide air by splitting carbon dioxide (CO2) into oxygen (O2) and divalent metal carbonate (MCO3).
Bacteria exist and proliferate on the inner side of masks. Still, SOP filter pad sterilizes the bacteria and prevents them from entering the body through respiratory tracts.
Elstech has been distributing its SOP filter pad through Shinsegae Mall since April 13, and the company is planning to expand its sales both online and offline.