The right glove for the right job at the right price: keeping gloves on hand

Healthcare Purchasing News, Feb, 2009 by Jeannie Akridge

There are also cost advantages to Vytex NRL. "Using Vytex NRL in place of traditional Hevea natural rubber latex or current glove synthetics in surgical or exam gloves is a cost effective proposition for both the manufacturer and the user/purchaser," said Doyle. "Gloves produced with Vytex NRL maintain or improve upon the desirable benefits of natural rubber latex; tensile strength, durability, barrier protection and comfort, fit and feel while significantly reducing the levels of antigenic proteins at a cost similar to nitrile in exams and considerable savings over the more pricier latex alternatives used in surgical gloves (neoprene and polyisoprene)."

An alternate type of NRL, harvested from desert shrubs grown in Arizona is Yulex guayule latex. In April 2008, the FDA cleared for marketing the Yulex Patient Examination Glove. While not yet produced commercially, "Yulex is working with glove manufacturers, which we hope will release a commercially-available glove in the near future," said Katrina Cornish, senior vice president of research & development at Yulex Corp.

"Yulex rubber is safe for people with life-threatening Type I latex allergies. Its tensile strength, elasticity, durability, protection and comfort are superior to synthetic products as well," said Cornish. "And unlike synthetic products, Yulex material is also renewable and an excellent way for hospitals to reduce their carbon footprints by avoiding petroleum-derived products or products imported from overseas. The process used to make Yulex latex are non-polluting and sustainable which also creates new sustainable, clean technology jobs in the U.S."

Besides the Yulex patient exam glove, the company "is working with surgical glove manufacturers to produce a guayule surgical glove, but this product is not likely to become available commercially in 2009," said Cornish. "We haven't found any medical products which use latex or synthetic polymers, that we cannot make from guayule, and a wide variety of medical products are in development with manufacturers." HPN

References:

(1.) www.latexglove.info--health Safety

(2.) "Vytex Natural Rubber Latex: An Innovative Source Material for Natural Rubber Latex" http://wwwvytex.com/pdf/ILC_2008_Vytex_NRL_Technical_Paper.pdf