This data set contains the source data of the publication: Cui, Z., Zhang, S., Wang, Y., Tormey, L., Kanies, O.S., Spero, R.C., Fisher, J.K. & Toonder, J.M.J. den (2021). Self-cleaning surfaces realized by biologically sized magnetic artificial cilia. Adv. Mater. Interfaces 2021, 2102016. https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.202102016. In this study, biologically-sized magnetic artificial cilia (b-MAC) which are only 45 micrometers long and that are randomly distributed on the surface, are used to remove microparticles. The data are experimentally obtained with methods described in the publication.