An Early Start to Flu Season? Meet the ‘Liquid Mask’ Gel Layer for Your Nose

How University of Birmingham formulation science turns a fine mist into a soft, drug-free gel layer in your nose – and how it fits into an everyday nasal-care routine

Autumn is here, and so are the UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA) weekly winter virus updates. The first report of the 2026/27 season, published on 8 October, noted that flu activity throughout September was higher than in the same period over the past four winters, with the rise driven mainly by young adults – a possible sign of an early start to the season.

The reassuring part? UKHSA’s latest update on 22 October shows flu still circulating at baseline (low) levels, and its epidemiologists say the earlier rise has slowed. Their advice is simple: vaccination remains the best defence against flu, so if you’re eligible, now is a great time to book your free NHS flu jab.

A new season is also a good moment to think about everyday nasal care: busier trains, central heating and dusty decorations coming down from the loft. NoriZite® isn’t a medicine or an alternative to the flu jab – it’s a gentle, drug-free nasal spray with clever materials science inside.

Your nose: the body’s built-in air filter

Every day, your nose filters thousands of litres of air. Its moist lining carries a sticky mucus layer that catches dust and pollen, and tiny hair-like cilia sweep them gently away. NoriZite is designed to work with this system, not against it.

How the ‘liquid mask’ works

NoriZite leaves the nozzle as a fine mist. When it lands on the moist lining of your nose, it settles into a soft, thin gel layer. That gel layer is what we mean by a ‘liquid mask’: it’s simply a picture of a gel coating inside your nose – not a face mask, and not a replacement for one.

The gel forms a physical barrier that helps trap airborne particles such as pollen and dust, which your nose’s own clearing system then sweeps away over time. Because it works physically, there is no active drug involved. NoriZite is gentle and biocompatibility-tested to ISO 10993.

The engineering challenge: mist, coverage and cling

NoriZite grew out of research at the University of Birmingham’s Healthcare Technologies Institute, and its real innovation is formulation engineering. A gel spray has to do three jobs that usually pull against each other:

• Sprayability: thicker gels tend to squirt out as a narrow jet rather than a fine mist.
• Coverage: a jet lands in one spot; a mist spreads across more of the nasal lining.
• Mucoadhesion: the gel needs to cling to the mucus layer rather than run off.

The answer was to pair two polymers. Iota-carrageenan provides the gel, while low-acyl gellan acts as its structuring partner: under the pressure of the pump the mixture thins enough to break up into a fine mist, then rebuilds its gel structure once it lands. In a peer-reviewed lab study in Frontiers in Medical Technology (2021), Robinson, Moakes and Grover found that adding gellan to iota-carrageenan gave more than four times the spray coverage of carrageenan alone, and helped the mix adhere to a mucus-like surface. This built on the team’s earlier work on a mist-to-gel composite spray design, published in Advanced Materials (Moakes et al., 2021).

Both are polysaccharides widely used to give foods a gel texture. Iota-carrageenan comes from red seaweed and gellan gum is made by fermentation. NoriZite contains no animal-derived ingredients and is fragrance-free; like most multi-use sprays, it also contains small amounts of preservatives to keep it in good condition.

How long does the gel layer stay put? In a small study with five healthy volunteers, the spray could still be detected in the nose up to 6 hours after use, with around half present at about four hours. The study is a preprint (not yet peer reviewed) and its authors include members of the NoriZite team, so we see it as an encouraging early step.

Everyday moments to use NoriZite

• The daily commute: city air and dusty platforms, trains and buses.
• Office days: recirculated air and dusty desks and shelves.
• Travel: under 100 ml, so it fits in your cabin bag.
• Festive prep: bringing decorations down from the loft.
• Garden and DIY jobs: raking leaves, sanding, or sorting out the shed.

Using it is easy: blow your nose, shake the bottle, tilt your head slightly forward, spray into each nostril and sniff gently. Reapply as directed. If you use a prescription or steroid nasal spray, use that first and wait at least 15 minutes before using NoriZite. Always follow the product instructions and the advice of your healthcare professional. NoriZite Nasal Spray is for use from age 12.

A smart gel layer for your everyday nasal care

NoriZite turns a fine mist into a soft, physical gel barrier in your nose that helps trap airborne particles such as pollen and dust. Thanks to two carefully paired polymers, it sprays easily, spreads well and clings where it lands – a simple, drug-free step that fits neatly into your everyday nasal-care routine, at home, at work or on the move.

Discover NoriZite® Nasal Spray (20 ml, for ages 12+) and how to use it: https://norizite.com/products/norizite®-nasal-spray

References & news sources

1. UK Health Security Agency (8 Oct 2026, updated 22 Oct 2026). Latest weekly winter virus surveillance data. GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/latest-ukhsa-weekly-winter-virus-surveillance-data
2. UK Health Security Agency (8 Oct 2026). Flu levels low at start of season but higher than previous 4 years. GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/flu-levels-low-at-start-of-season-but-higher-than-previous-4-years
3. NHS. Flu vaccine – who can get it and how to book. https://www.nhs.uk/vaccinations/flu-vaccine/
4. Robinson TE, Moakes RJA, Grover LM (2021). Frontiers in Medical Technology 3:687681. (Lab study: adding low-acyl gellan to iota-carrageenan gave >4× spray coverage and improved mucoadhesion.) https://doi.org/10.3389/fmedt.2021.687681
5. Moakes RJA, Davies SP, Stamataki Z, Grover LM (2021). Advanced Materials 33(26):2008304. (Background: University of Birmingham research on the mist-to-gel composite spray design.) https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202008304
6. Wang JTW, Tsang CW, Yip NC, Hsu SC (2026). Enhancing nasal retention: using the mucosal blanket to structure sprays. bioRxiv/openRxiv preprint, not peer reviewed; authors include members of the NoriZite team. (Healthy volunteers, n=5; detectable up to 6 hours.) https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.01.12.698967
7. NoriZite® Nasal Spray (20 ml) – product page: who it’s for (ages 12+), how to use and safety information. https://norizite.com/products/norizite®-nasal-spray

Hero photo: Yusuf Miah on Pexels (Pexels License). Graphics by Birmingham Biotech design team.