Conservation of Rubber Gloves by Chemical Sterilization. Study of Efficacy of Chemical Sterilization, and Comparison of the Effects of Heat and Chemical Sterilization upon Rubber Gloves
Taylor, K.P.A.
Nov. med. Bull., Wash. 40: 916-922
1942
Document Number: 401433
A description is given of a chemical method of sterilizing rubber gloves which has been in use on the Continent of Europe for several years and is ascribed to Demmer (1924), the exact reference not being cited. Various methods tried out by T. and his colleagues are discussed, and it is concluded that the best routine procedure consists of: -washing for one minute; exposure for ten minutes to 1: 1, 000 mercuric chloride; and immersion for one minute in 70% ethyl alcohol. Chemical sterilization so practised is held to prolong the life of gloves nine-fold. For the destruction of spore-bearing organisms, the suggested chemical treatment is immersion in 1: 1, 000 mercuric chloride for a single period of 18 hours, or for three separate periods, each of one hour, at 24-hour intervals. It is pointed out that in many tropical areas tetanus organisms circulate freely in the atmosphere.