| AVS 58th Annual International Symposium and Exhibition | |
| Applied Surface Science Division | Tuesday Sessions |
| Session AS-TuP |
| Session: | Applied Surface Science Poster Session |
| Presenter: | Christopher Baily, Thermo Fisher Scientific, UK |
| Authors: | B.R. Strohmeier, Thermo Fisher Scientific, UK C. Baily, Thermo Fisher Scientific, UK T.S. Nunney, Thermo Fisher Scientific, UK A. Plasencia, Thermo Fisher Scientific J.D. Piasecki, RJ Lee Group, Inc. |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
Disposable elastic gloves are ubiquitous in scientific laboratories and are also widely used in many industries during handling of critical surfaces. Disposable gloves are typically made from nitrile, latex, neoprene, or other polymers and offer their users protection from various aqueous acids and bases, biological fluids, organic solvents, and other potentially harmful chemicals. A second major application of disposable gloves is to protect manufactured products and analytical samples from contamination caused by the transfer of skin cells, oils, salts, or other residues resulting from contact with bare hands. However, disposable gloves can also be a potential source of contamination. In addition to the primary polymer structure, many types of common laboratory gloves also contain a variety of inorganic materials in the glove formulation. Mold-release agents that allow the gloves to be easily stripped from the glove formers during fabrication may be present on glove surfaces. Furthermore, many types of disposable gloves have polymeric surface coatings that provide improved donning properties. Contamination resulting from surface residues on gloves can adversely affect materials used in industries where surface cleanliness is essential for optimum product performance and can also interfere with the analysis of samples depending on the specificity and sensitivity of the analytical technique. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is a qualitative and quantitative surface sensitive technique that can be used to evaluate the surface composition of disposable gloves and to determine if contamination transfer occurs from gloves in a specific process. In this study, XPS was used to characterize the surface compositions of a variety of common laboratory gloves. The transfer of surface components from gloves to other material surfaces and changes in the surface composition of gloves following exposure to several common laboratory solvents were also investigated.