Reducing proteins in latex gloves

Abstract

A number of methods for reducing the level of residual protein in surgical and medical examination gloves and other medical devices are being explored by latex producers and their research associations as well as by the manufacturers of these articles. Modification of current procedures could be applied either directly on production lines or at a later step before their actual use. Some approaches appear more interesting than others.

There are, at the present time, medical-use gloves that are known to be perfectly well tolerated by health care personnel and their patients who had previously been unable to tolerate standard latex gloves. Their cost might be a factor limiting their wider use. Application of some of the methods described above could allow latex to remain the leading material for this type of application for a long time to come.