A glove with exceptional protective features minimizes the risks of working with hazardous chemicals

In continuation of our preceding studies, we disclose long-term experiments to test more extensively the protective power of the novel 4H Glove. 2 compounds encountered in modern electron microscopy technique, 1-hexadecene (1-HD) and 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate (2-HEA), which elicit allergic and/or toxic reactions in laboratory workers, were tested for their penetration through the 4H Glove material 1-HD has not to our knowledge been tested on any glove material. 2-HEA was known to have a breakthrough time exceeding 240 min; in contrast, it penetrates the common latex or vinyl gloves within minutes. When exposing the outside of a 4H Glove to 2-HEA for 200 h at 21 degrees C and then attaching the reverse unexposed side to a sensitized volunteer's forearm, 30 min of contact elicited a barely visible reddening of the skin at the contact site which disappeared within 24 h; 90 min of contact caused a somewhat stronger reddening limited to the contact area, which disappeared within 2 days. By the same criteria, 1-HD did not penetrate through the 4H Glove in 200 h. In an additional experiment, breakthrough time of 1-HD on latex gloves was less than 30 min.