Tensile Properties and Integrity of Clean Room and Low-Modulus Disposable Nitrile Gloves: A Comparison of Two Dissimilar Glove Types

Abstract

Background: The selection of disposable nitrile exam gloves is complicated by (i) the availability of several types or formulations, (ii) product variability, and (iii) an inability of common quality control tests to detect small holes in the fingers. Differences in polymer formulation (e.g. filler and plasticizer/oil content) and tensile properties are expected to account for much of the observed variability in performance.Objectives: This study evaluated the tensile properties and integrity (leak failure rates) of two glove choices assumed to contain different amounts of plasticizers/oils. The primary aims were to determine if the tensile properties and integrity differed and if associations existed among these factors. Additional physical and chemical properties were evaluated.Methods: Six clean room and five low-modulus products were evaluated using the American Society for Testing and Materials Method D412 and a modified water-leak test to detect holes capable of passing a virus or chemical agent.Results: Significant differences in the leak failure rates and tensile properties existed between the two glove types (P 0.05). The clean room gloves were about three times more likely to have leak failures (chi-square; P 5 0.001). No correlation was observed between leak failures and tensile properties. Solvent extract, an indication of added plasticizer/oil, was not associated with leak failures. However, gloves with a maximum modulus ,4 MPa or area density (AD) ,11 g cm À2 were about four times less likely to leak.Conclusions: On average, the low-modulus gloves were a better choice for protection against aqueous chemical or biological penetration. The observed variability between glove products indicated that glove selection cannot rely solely on glove type or manufacturer labeling. Measures of modulus and AD may aid in the selection process, in contrast with common measures of tensile strength and elongation at break.

Stability of nitrile and vinyl latex gloves under repeated disinfection cycles

“…Similar property values are reported in the literature for vinyl gloves. However, the nitrile gloves are on the lower end of the reported values for this type of product in the literature as it ranges from 300 to 600% strains [ [35] , [36] , [37] ].…”

Review of the Performance, Selection, and Use of Gloves for Chemical Protection

“…Published studies report up to 10-fold differences in BT and up to 1000-fold differences in SSPR between brands, depending on the chemical and glove material. Perkins and Pool and Phalen and Wong observed moderate batch or lot variability, up to 2-fold differences in BT or SSPR. Also worth noting is the fact that most glove performance testing is performed at room temperature.…”

“…Breakthrough time (BT) and permeation rates (PRs) separately do not represent dermal availability. Together, they can be used to calculate the area under the permeation curve (AUC), which is a better estimate of the potential dermal dose received: This value is similar to a toxicological dose and is best used in the evaluation and comparison of different glove materials at different time periods. In toxicology, the dose is a function of the amount of exposure and the duration of exposure.…”

Evaluating the Protective Effectiveness of Rubber Glove Materials Against Organic Solvents Upon Repeated Exposure and Decontamination

“…Including textile tensile strength in glove certification could enhance the evaluation of glove integrity and performance [ 13 , 14 ]. The tensile strengths vary among disposable nitrile gloves due to the elastomer formulations and serve as parameters in evaluating glove degradation [ 13 ]. Tensile property changes have been used to indicate material degradation in protective gloves under real-world usage conditions.…”