Abrasion resistance of medical glove materials

Abstract

Due to the increasing demand for nonlatex medical gloves in the health-care community, there is a need to assess the durability of alternative glove materials. This study examines durability characteristics of various glove materials by abrasion resistance testing. Natural rubber latex (latex), polyvinyl chloride (vinyl), acrylonitrile butadiene (nitrile), polychloroprene (neoprene), and a styrene-ethylene/butylene-styrene block copolymer (SEBS) were tested. All test specimens, with the exception of the vinyl, were obtained from surgical gloves. Unaged out-of-the-box specimens as well as those subjected to various degrees of artificial aging were included in the study. After the abrasion sequence, the barrier integrity of the material was assessed through the use of a static leak test. Other traditional tests performed on these materials were viral penetration to validate the abrasion data and tear testing for comparative purposes. The results indicate that specific glove-material performance is dependent upon the particular test under consideration. Most notably, abrasion, even in controlled nonsevere conditions, may compromise to varying degrees the barrier integrity of latex, vinyl, SEBS, nitrile, and neoprene glove materials. However, as evidenced by the results of testing three brands of neoprene gloves, the abrasion resistance of any one glove material may be significantly affected by variations in production processes.

Vinyl glove ingestion in children: a word of caution

“…Polyvinyl chloride gloves have been proposed as a cost-effective and feasible alternative. The problem is that these soft pliable gloves become hard and irregular and develop sharp cutting edges after ingestion [5][6][7][8][9]. In addition, polyvinyl chloride can produce toxic substances.…”

Latex Medical Gloves: Time for a Reappraisal

“…In another study where gloves were stressed according to a designated protocol before examining for leakage properties, failure rates were 2.2% for NRL and 1.3% for nitrile gloves, which were again better than for vinyl or copolymer (8.2% for each) [30]. Barrier integrity following an abrasion test demonstrated that NRL gloves were better than vinyl, although not as good as either nitrile or neoprene [31]. …”

Analysis of Abrasion Characteristics in Textiles

“…17. Glove abrasion resistance apparatus (Walsh et al, 2004) www.intechopen.com This device converts the rotary motion of an adjustable-speed, DC gear motor into oscillating linear displacement of a carriage that serves as a translating support for a vertical loading column. The abrader is linearly stroked against a test specimen at a rate that is preset by adjustment of a motor speed control.…”

“…The abrader is linearly stroked against a test specimen at a rate that is preset by adjustment of a motor speed control. Along with displaying the preset number of cycles for a particular test sequence, the system control unit also indicates real-time values of test cycles and cycle rate (Walsh et al, 2004).…”