Researchers at Chung-Ang University developed a filter capable of filtering out fine dust by mimicking human nasal hair to provide an extremely small force at the level of nanonewtons (nN, 1 nN is one-billionth of a newton).
Professor Woo Sang-hyuk's research team at Chung-Ang University's Department of Chemical Engineering noted on the 22nd that they developed a biomimetic filter utilizing a thin liquid coating inspired by the natural filtering function of mucus-covered nasal hair. The research results were published in the international academic journal Nature on the 18th.
Air filters are widely used to improve indoor air quality, but existing air filters had limitations with insufficient adsorption power. The adsorption power of existing filters is about 10-30 nN. They rely on intermolecular forces to make dust cling to the filter, but the weak adsorption power often left dust particles unfiltered.
The research team focused on how nasal hairs use mucus to block external dust. They reported that by utilizing the adhesive properties of liquids, they could enhance the adsorption power and added a thin liquid film to the filter. The resulting filter allowed dust to clump much better on the material and suppressed the re-dispersion of the collected dust.
The research team collaborated with the city of Seoul to install 834 new filters at the Gocheok Sky Dome and verified their performance over one year. As a result, the lifespan of the filters increased by more than twice, and energy consumption was reduced by about 20%.
References
Nature (2025), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09156-y