Protocol for bacterial filtration efficiency evaluations of facemask materials using viable bacteria-laden aerosol droplets

Here, we present a protocol for determining the bacterial filtration efficiencies of facemask materials according to the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard F2101-19. We describe steps for reproducibly generating, collecting, and enumerating viable bacteria-laden aerosols containing the bacterial pathogen Staphylococcus aureus. The optimized operating parameters generate 1,700 to 3,000 viable bacteria-laden aerosol droplets between 2.7 and 3.3 μm. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Thirugnanasampanthar et al.¹.