# Ultrafine Particles | C-POLAR Source: https://cpolar.tech/contaminants/ultrafine-particles/ Explore ultrafine particles, their sources and health effects, and the NanoFlashing™ filtration approach. This is the text of that page, in a form a machine can read. Nothing in it is paraphrased or shortened. After it come short extracts from other C-POLAR pages, each quoted word for word with the page it comes from. --- ## Ultrafine Particles Ultrafine particles slip into your blood — C-POLAR ## Ultrafine particles slip into your blood, and many carry an electric charge Vehicles, fires and smoke release ultrafine particles smaller than 100 nanometers. Current filtration standards do not rate ultrafine particles. HEPA and MERV ratings measure filter performance at 300 nanometers, about 3x larger than the top of the ultrafine range, so a filter's rating does not show how it performs on ultrafine particles. Studies at the University of Leuven, in Belgium, show ultrafine particles [pass from the lungs into the blood in about one minute](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11815420/). Lancaster University scientists found [combustion particles in human brain tissue](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27601646/). Ford Motor Company researchers found [60% to 80% of exhaust particles left the tailpipe with an electric charge](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0021850205001643). Ultrafine particles across the US ### Ultrafine particles don't spread out evenly A global model at 1-kilometer resolution mapped ultrafine particles across North America. Over open land the count sits near 700 particles in a cubic centimeter of air. Along the highways and over the cities it climbs to several thousand, and past 36,000 at the worst spots. The map traces nearly every interstate and every city. Ultrafine particles (per cubic centimeter of air) 700 2,200 4,200 36,000+ [Georgiades et al., Scientific Data, 2025 · 1 km global model](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-06055-9) Ultrafine Particles — Health Impact ## What ultrafine particles do to you The charge fades as the filter fills with dust The charge fades as the filter fills with dust of fine particles a charged filter still caught after 11 weeks, down from 85% when new A common filter leans on a built-in electrostatic charge to catch the smallest particles, and the rating on the box is measured on a clean, brand-new filter. As the filter loads with dust over weeks, that charge fades. In a University of Minnesota study, charged building filters saw their capture of fine 0.6-micron particles [fall from 85% to as low as 45%](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15238317/) over about eleven weeks in a working air handler, while plain uncharged filters barely changed. A charged filter's grip is temporary. The one you install is not the one you breathe through weeks later, once the dust has worn the charge down. The fix is a charge that does not fade. The NanoFlashing™ Air Filter captures ultrafine particles The NanoFlashing™ Air Filter captures the ultrafine particle down to 16.5 nanometers 91.9% captured at 16.5 nm, the smallest size tested >90% of the ultrafine 16–34 nm fraction The NanoFlashing™ Air Filter has a permanent positive polarity, a fixed positive charge carried by the filter itself. Ultrafine particles are electrically charged, so the filter captures and holds them, through a physical mechanism, with no power and no chemicals. The hardest size for any filter to catch is about 0.3 microns, the size HEPA is rated on, and, the US EPA notes, the point where a filter is weakest. In an independent lab test, NanoFlashing™ held more than 90% of the far smaller 16 to 34 nanometer particles, and 91.9% at 16.5 nanometers, the smallest size the lab measured. 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[Privacy Policy](/privacy/)[Terms of Use](/terms/) [Back to top ↑](#) ## The evidence panels on this page The World Health Organization (WHO) studies show that outdoor fine-particle pollution contributes to about 4.2 million early deaths a year. - Source: [4.2 million early deaths a year](https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ambient-(outdoor)-air-quality-and-health) ### Lungs Studies show air pollution contributed to 8.1 million deaths in 2021, according to the Health Effects Institute, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and UNICEF. - Source: [8.1 million deaths in 2021](https://www.stateofglobalair.org/news-events/2024/new-state-global-air-report-finds-air-pollution-second-leading-risk-factor-death) A George Washington University study tied fine particles to 5 to 10 million asthma emergency-room visits worldwide each year. - Source: [5 to 10 million asthma emergency-room visits worldwide each year](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6371661/) The WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer classified outdoor air pollution and particulate matter as carcinogenic to humans, Group 1, with sufficient evidence that they cause lung cancer. - Source: [carcinogenic to humans, Group 1](https://www.iarc.who.int/news-events/iarc-outdoor-air-pollution-a-leading-environmental-cause-of-cancer-deaths/) ### Heart The Health Effects Institute and Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation linked fine-particle pollution to 4.14 million deaths worldwide in 2019, with heart disease and stroke among the leading causes. - Source: [4.14 million deaths worldwide in 2019](https://www.stateofglobalair.org/health/pm) A Max Planck Institute-led study found ultrafine particles are tied to about 1.99 million premature deaths each year, roughly half from cardiovascular disease. - Source: [about 1.99 million premature deaths each year](https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvag136) A Xi'an Jiaotong University-led analysis tied ambient PM2.5 to 977,140 ischemic heart-disease deaths in 2017. - Source: [977,140 ischemic heart-disease deaths in 2017](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33297122/) ### Brain & Mind A Global Burden of Disease study found fine-particle pollution was linked to about 1.99 million stroke deaths worldwide in 2021. - Source: [about 1.99 million stroke deaths worldwide in 2021](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12041061/) A Lancaster University study in PNAS found pollution-made magnetite nanoparticles in the brain tissue of all 37 people examined. - Source: [the brain tissue of all 37 people examined](https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1605941113) A University of Montana study of 179 brains found Alzheimer's tau protein in 84% of the smell-processing bulbs by the second decade of life, alongside combustion-derived nanoparticles. - Source: [84% of the smell-processing bulbs by the second decade of life](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29935448/) ### Metabolism A Washington University and St. Louis VA study linked fine-particle pollution to about 3.2 million new type 2 diabetes cases worldwide in 2016. - Source: [about 3.2 million new type 2 diabetes cases worldwide in 2016](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpla/article/PIIS2542-5196(18)30140-2/fulltext) A St. Louis VA and Washington University study of 2.48 million veterans attributed 44,793 new US kidney-disease cases each year to PM2.5 above the cleanest background levels. - Source: [44,793 new US kidney-disease cases each year](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5748906/) A University of Southern California study found higher near-road PM2.5 exposure was tied to 21.6% lower insulin sensitivity in overweight Latino children. - Source: [21.6% lower insulin sensitivity](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5482082/) ### Reproduction A UCSF and Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation study linked fine-particle pollution to 5,870,103 preterm births worldwide in 2019, about 36% of the total. - Source: [5,870,103 preterm births worldwide in 2019](https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1003718) A Peking University study attributed about 0.83 million stillbirths a year to PM2.5 above 10 micrograms per cubic metre. - Source: [about 0.83 million stillbirths a year](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-34250-4) A Hasselt University and University of Aberdeen study found black-carbon particles in fetal liver, lung and brain tissue as early as 7 to 20 weeks. - Source: [fetal liver, lung and brain tissue as early as 7 to 20 weeks](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(22)00200-5/fulltext) ### Gut A study of 117 million hospital admissions across 252 Chinese cities tied a rise in fine particles to 0.21% more admissions for digestive disease that day. - Source: [0.21% more admissions for digestive disease](https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1003188) A UK Biobank study of 165,722 adults found long-term fine-particle exposure was associated with a 29% higher risk of inflammatory bowel disease. - Source: [a 29% higher risk of inflammatory bowel disease](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13500258/) A review of 70 studies found long-term fine-particle exposure was associated with a 35% higher risk of irritable bowel syndrome. - Source: [a 35% higher risk of irritable bowel syndrome](https://academic.oup.com/epirev/article-abstract/doi/10.1093/epirev/mxag005/8658282) ### Blood & Cells A KU Leuven study found inhaled ultrafine carbon particles entered healthy people's blood within 1 minute. - Source: [within 1 minute](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11815420/) A Hasselt University and University of Aberdeen study found black-carbon particles in all 60 mothers, all 60 cord-blood samples and all 60 placentas tested. - Source: [all 60 mothers, all 60 cord-blood samples and all 60 placentas tested](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9553674/) A Lancaster University study found millions of pollution-made magnetite nanoparticles per gram of brain tissue, with particles present in all 37 people examined. - Source: [millions of pollution-made magnetite nanoparticles per gram of brain tissue](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27601646/) --- ## Extracts from other C-POLAR pages - [NanoFlashing™ Air Filter: United States regulatory status | C-POLAR](https://cpolar.tech/reference/us-regulatory-status/) - [Validation | C-POLAR](https://cpolar.tech/validation/)