PROPER MATERIAL SELECTION OF MEDICAL GLOVES
A. S. Ali, W. Y. Ali
Abstract
The possibility of making use of the electrostatic charge (ESC) generated on the surfaces of polymeric materials of the protective equipment such as gloves is investigated in the present work to develop their efficiency to protect the wearer from viruses. Because most viruses have a negative charge including COVID-19, it is necessary to recognize the sign and magnitude of the ESC generated on the surface of the gloves. Experiments were carried out to measure the ESC generated from rubbing medical gloves by different materials. It was found that ESC generated from contact and separation as well as sliding of the tested gloves with different materials shows that PE gloves displayed the highest values while nitrile and latex recorded lower values. The relatively high negative ESC generated on PE glove would be able to repel the negatively charged virus out of the surface of the gloves. ESC generated on the gloves from their friction with face mask and face shield showed that latex gloves gained the highest positive values followed by nitrile and PE gloves. On the other side, face shield gained higher ESC than face mask. When the gloves gain positive ESC and both face mask and shield gain negative ESC, the gloves attract the negative charged viruses while face mask and shield repel those viruses away. Based on that mentioned above, it is recommended to select such materials that gain a strong negative ESC. The relatively high negative ESC generated on PE glove would be able to repel the negatively charged viruses out of the gloves.