Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. plans to put on sale by the end of this month a mask it believes can kill the SARS virus with a special enzyme-woven fabric, according to company officials.
In developing the mask, Mitsubishi Heavy, one of the nation's largest aviation and defense equipment makers, adopted its existing technology for making filters for air conditioners and purifiers, they said.
The 3-mm-thick mask is made of three layers of fabric, and the sandwiched layer is woven with a natural enzyme.
If the enzyme is touched by viruses having capsules, such as the SARS and flu viruses, their capsules will melt and the viruses will die, according to the company officials.
A laboratory affiliated with the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has tested the mask's central layer using a protein having nearly the same structure as the capsule of the SARS virus, and confirmed that more than 99 percent of the protein was destroyed.
Although no tests using the real SARS virus have been conducted, the mask's effectiveness in killing the virus has been proven -- at least theoretically, the company officials said.
It will carry a price tag of only around 500 yen. The product is expected to be sold at general retail outlets, including convenience stores.