Meltblown material formed from polyolefin fibers

Abstract

A meltblown material formed from a plurality of fibers that can withstand the effects of a gamma irradiation sterilization process without negatively impacting the bacterial filtration efficiency (BFE) and particle filtration efficiency (PFE) of the meltblown material (e.g., facemasks, surgical gowns, surgical caps, etc.) is provided. The fibers include a high melt flow rate (MFR) polyolefin. Further, both the fibers include specific antioxidants and a charge enhancer package that allow for the effective electret treatment of the resulting meltblown material prior to sterilization, where the filtration efficiency and of the material is improved post-sterilization compared to materials without the specific combination of antioxidants and charge enhancing components.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.