Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 8, 2026

Air Filter Devices Including Nonwoven Meshes of Electrospun Recombinant Spider Silk Proteins
Published on: May 8, 2013
Silk protein nanofibers for highly efficient, eco-friendly, optically translucent, and multifunctional air filters
Kyungtaek Min1,2, Sookyoung Kim1, Sunghwan Kim3,4
1Department of Energy Systems Research, Ajou University, Suwon, 16499, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
New types of air filter technologies are being called because air pollution by particulate matters (PMs) and volatile organic compounds has raised serious concerns for public health. Conventional air filters have limited application and poor degradability and they become non-disposable wastes after use. Here, we report a highly efficient, eco-friendly, translucent, and multifunctional air purification filter that is highly effective for reducing air pollution, protecting the environment, and detecting hazardous chemical vapors encountered in everyday life. Uniform silk protein nanofibers were directly generated on a window screen by an electrospinning process. Optical properties (translucence and scattering) of the silk nanofibrous air filters (SNAFs) are advantageous for achieving viewability and controlling the room temperature. Air filtration efficiencies of the fabricated SNAFs could reach up to 90% and 97% for PMs with sizes under 2.5 and 10 μm, respectively, exceeding the performances of commercial semi-high-efficiency particulate air (semi-HEPA) filters. After use, the SNAFs could be naturally degraded. Furthermore, we demonstrate the ability of SNAFs impregnated with organic dyes to sense hazardous and volatile vapors encountered in everyday life.
Related Concept Videos
Passive Filters
Low-Pass Filters
Low-pass filters are designed to transmit signals with frequencies lower than the cutoff frequency, ωc, and attenuate those above it. The cutoff...
Active Filters
Air-entraining Agents
Effects of Air-entrainment in Concrete
Measurement of Air Content in Concrete
The pressure method,...
Globular and Fibrous Proteins
Globular proteins are also known as spheroproteins and typically are approximately round in shape. They contain a mix of amino acid types and contain differing sequences in their primary structures. Globular proteins have many different functions, such as enzymes, cellular messengers, and molecular transporters. These roles often require the proteins to be...

