Air purification apparatus is provided that removes undesirable substances, such as particulate materials, malodors, viruses, bacteria, fungi, and toxins, from the air present within an enclosed environment. The apparatus is switchable between a mode in which air immediately adjacent the apparatus housing is drawn in and purified, and a mode in which air remote from the apparatus housing is drawn in from a specific point within the enclosed environment through use of an elongate duct.

Intra-nasal filter devices and methods for their manufacture and use are disclosed. An intra-nasal filter device includes: a first stage filter proximate the septum; and a second stage filter comprising a flexible material extending upwardly from the first filter stage filter; wherein the flexible material comprises: an impedance in the range of 0.02 to 0.2 cmH.sub.2O; an effective cross-sectional area in the range of 0.2 to 2 square inches; and a plurality of radially extending geometric structures disposed along an axial length of the second stage.

A filtering apparatus has a volume-changeable filtering chamber having one or more flexible enclosing walls and receiving therein a compressible porous filtering medium, a fluid inlet coupled to the filtering chamber for introducing an input fluid stream with impurities into the filtering chamber, a fluid outlet coupled to the filtering chamber for discharging a filtered fluid stream from the filtering chamber, and a volume-changing structure coupled to or in association with the filtering chamber, adapted to permit increasing or decreasing of the volume of the filtering chamber so as to compress or decompress the compressible porous filtering medium therein so as to correspondingly adjust the pore size of the compressible porous filtering medium in said filtering chamber. A method for flushing a compressible filter media, and a method of variably adjusting the amount of filtering, is further disclosed and claimed.

The present invention provides a liquid eliminating cartridge that is formed by snapping two mating pieces together. The pieces may include a body portion and a top portion and may together clamp an oleophobic/hydrophobic membrane there between.

An electroceutical system integrated into an article of personal protective equipment (PPE) like a face mask. The system consists of an electrochemical cell consisting of an anodic zone capable of serving as an anode, a cathodic zone capable of serving as a cathode and, optionally, a selectively conductive switch zone electrically couplable to and separating the anodic and cathodic zones and serving to switch on and off current flow between the anodic and cathodic zones.

A filtration article for using in personal protective equipment (“PPE”) that includes one or more layers. The article has an external side for facing side the environment and an internal side for facing the body of a user. The article is air permeable but has a porosity sufficient to entrap and thereby filter selected infectious agents (IAs). The one or more layers comprise structures providing two or more of the following functional features selected from the group of: (1) a structure with oligodynamic materials for inactivating the selected IAs; (2) a structure of carbon fibers or particles for moisture management and/or conductive cooling; (3) a knit or woven structure having yarns in a denier gradient that causes wicking of water from the internal side of the mask toward the external side; (4) an energized or energizable structure that subjects entrapped IAs to current, charged particles, electrostatic discharge, resistive heating, IR heating and/or disruptive electromagnetic energy; and (5) a hydrophobic structure forming an external surface of the external side for repelling droplets and other moisture from absorbing into the surface.

An apparatus includes an expandable and porous filtration member having a body constructed of a composite containing a polymer hydrogel, a rubber binder, and a filler. The body has a first volume and expandable to a second volume upon contacting with a fluid comprising water.

The invention provides a system for sanitizing fluids such as water and air. In particular, the invention provides a combination of solid chlorhexidine and a polymer matrix, for which effluents are essentially free of leached chlorhexidine. The systems enable rapid disinfecting of fluids, including in line at the point of use, and can be employed for both high volume applications and disposable single-use applications.

Provided is an face mask comprising: (a) a mask body configured to cover at least wearer's mouth and nose; and (b) a fastener to hold the mask in place on the wearer; wherein the mask body includes (i) an air-permeable outer layer preferably comprising a hydrophobic material (e.g. water-repelling fibers), (ii) an inner layer located on a wearer's side when the mask is worn, and (iii) a graphene foam layer disposed in the mask body between the outer layer and the inner layer or embedded (totally or partially) in the outer layer or the inner layer. The foam pore wall graphene surfaces may be deposited with an antiviral or anti-bacteria compound.

Provided is an face mask comprising: (a) a mask body configured to cover at least wearer's mouth and nose; and (b) a fastener to hold the mask in place on the wearer; wherein the mask body includes (i) an air-permeable outer layer preferably comprising a hydrophobic material (e.g. water-repelling fibers), (ii) an inner layer located on a wearer's side when the mask is worn, and (iii) a graphene layer disposed in the mask body, wherein the graphene layer comprises a plurality of discrete single-layer or few-layer graphene sheets selected from pristine graphene, graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide, graphene fluoride, graphene chloride, graphene bromide, graphene iodide, hydrogenated graphene, nitrogenated graphene, doped graphene, chemically functionalized graphene, or a combination thereof. The graphene layer may be disposed between the outer layer and the inner layer or embedded (totally or partially) in the outer layer or the inner layer.