UBC researchers develop biodegradable wood fibre mask for COVID-19

The shortage of medical grade masks worldwide has hobbled health care professionals responding to the novel coronavirus — highlighting the need for improving supply lines and manufacturing more masks locally.

Researchers in the Bioproducts Institute at the University of British Columbia (UBC) have stepped up to the challenge, designing what could be the very first N95 mask that can be sourced and made entirely in Canada. It’s also possibly the world’s first fully compostable and biodegradable medical mask.