Reusing COVID-19 disposable nitrile gloves to improve the mechanical properties of expansive clay subgrade: An innovative medical waste solution.

The COVID-19 pandemic not only poses an unprecedented threat to global health but also severely disrupts the natural environment and ecosystems. Mitigating the adverse impacts of plastic-based personal protective equipment (PPE) waste requires the cooperation of professionals from various fields. This paper discusses a novel, cleaner approach to soil stabilisation by repurposing the nitrile gloves into a sustainable road material to improve the mechanical properties of expansive clay soil as pavement subgrade. For the first time, extensive geotechnical testings, including standard compaction, unconfined compressive strength (UCS), unsoaked California bearing ratio (CBR), repeated load triaxial (RLT), and swelling-shrinkage tests, were carried out to investigate the engineering performance of different proportions of the shredded nitrile gloves (SNG) (e.g., 1%, 1.5%, 2%) were blended with expansive clay (EC). In addition, surface roughness, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray micro-CT analyses were conducted, and images were obtained to study the microstructural modification of the EC-SNG mixtures. The experimental results indicated that the blend of expansive clay with SNG helped in increasing the compressive strength, resilient modulus, and CBR and assisted in reducing the swelling and shrinkage of the soil. SEM and surface roughness analyses indicated the interaction between the soil matrix interface and the rough surface of the SNG. The main reasons for increasing the strength and stability of clay soil could be attributed to the high tensile strength of the SNG and the formation of the three-dimensional grid, and friction between the soil particles and SNG. According to the X-ray micro-CT test results, the incorporation of SNG led to an increase in closed porosity.

Double gloving of disposable nitrile gloves exposed to diethylene glycol mono-n-butyl ether.

Double gloving of disposable gloves is now commonplace in healthcare settings when extra protection is needed against aqueous solutions and especially for antineoplastic drugs in isotonic aqueous media. In the present study, an ASTM F739 2.54 cm cell with closed-loop water collection without recirculation at 35 °C in a moving tray water bath was used to test the permeation of diethylene glycol mono-n-butyl ether (DGBE) through four types of disposable nitrile gloves that were singly and doubly layered in the permeation cell. Samples were taken over 8 hr for capillary gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer quantitation. The breakthrough time (tn) at a permeation of 250 ng/cm2 increased as thickness increased for single layers, but the steady-state permeation rates Ps in µg/cm2/min did not always decrease with increasing thickness. The double-layer tn, Ps and thickness were also more variable relative to a single layer. The thinnest glove with 80 [Formula: see text]m thickness showed a tn = 0-5 min whereas its double layer was 15-20 min. The thickest glove of 132 µm exhibited a tn = 10-15 min but its double layer was tn = 45-55 min. The adjusted double-layer average tn divided by the adjusted single-layer average tn was 4.0 ± 0.8. The adjusted average single-layer Ps divided by the adjusted average double-layer Ps was 3.5 ± 0.8. Other results showed that the average glove swelling was <10%; microscopic and leak testing indicated no penetration and reflectance infrared analysis also showed no chemical changes on the inside glove surfaces. Thus, the permeations were adjudged to obey Fick's First Law of Diffusion to allow calculation of diffusion coefficients D in cm2/min. The average single-layer D divided by the average double-layer D was 1.3 ± 0.2. Double gloving in the field is therefore also probably more protective than single gloving against DGBE for the four types of disposable nitrile gloves tested.

Whole glove permeation of cyclohexanol through disposable nitrile gloves on a dextrous robot hand: Fist clenching vs. non-clenching.

The differences in permeation parameters when a gloved dextrous robot hand clenched and did not were investigated with the dynamic permeation system described in the companion paper. Increased permeation through the gloves of the present study for cyclohexanol when the gloved hand clenched depended on glove thickness and porosity for cyclohexanol permeation. The Sterling glove, the thinnest and most porous, was the least protective. Hand clenching promoted more permeation for the Sterling glove in terms of breakthrough times, steady state permeation rate, and diffusion coefficient. The Safeskin glove showed increased permeation only for the steady state permeation rate but not breakthrough times or diffusion coefficient. The Blue and Purple gloves showed no differences when the hand was clenching or not. The correlational analysis supported differences between the clenching and non-clenching situations, and the risk assessment considered the worst and best scenarios relative to one and two hydrated hands that were and were not protected by specific gloves.

Biodegradation of Nitrile Gloves as Sole Carbon Source of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Liquid Culture.

Nitrile gloves have become a significant environmental pollutant after the COVID-19 pandemic due to their single-use design. This study examines the capability of P. aeruginosa to use nitrile gloves as its sole carbon energy source. Biodegradation was determined by P. aeruginosa adapting to increasing nitrile glove concentrations at 1%, 3%, and 5% (w/v). The growth kinetics of P. aeruginosa were evaluated, as well as the polymer weight loss. Topographic changes on the glove surfaces were examined using SEM, and FT-IR was used to evaluate the biodegradation products of the nitrile gloves. Following the establishment of a biofilm on the glove surface, the nitrile toxicity was minimized via biodegradation. The result of the average weight loss of nitrile gloves was 2.25%. FT-IR analysis revealed the presence of aldehydes and aliphatic amines associated with biodegradation. SEM showed P. aeruginosa immersed in the EPS matrix, causing the formation of cracks, scales, protrusions, and the presence of semi-spherical particles. We conclude that P. aeruginosa has the capability to use nitrile gloves as its sole carbon source, even up to 5%, through biofilm formation, demonstrating the potential of P. aeruginosa for the degradation of nitrile gloves.

Organic matter production and recycling in marine biofilm developing on common and new plastics.

To face the recent pandemic and comply with international legislation, new plastic objects (surgical masks, nitrile gloves, compostable plastics) have been produced, with a significant increase of their input into the marine environment, together with other common plastics. Given that floating plastic provides a suitable surface for settlement of micro-organism, biofilm accretion was studied in laboratory experiments. The characteristics of biofilm in terms of organic matter production and recycling were evaluated under natural and forced conditions, some of them resembling anthropogenic-affected states (eutrophication) and others environmental variability (darkness and oligotrophy). Under natural conditions, the different plastics, due to their structure and composition, hosted different biofilms. Thicker biofilm was observed on surgical mask and compostable plastic (organic carbon maxima of 35.0 ± 4.7 µg cm-2 and 4.3 ± 0.8 µg cm-2, respectively). Compostable plastic hosted a higher carbohydrate quantity than polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene and nitrile (on average 8.0 ± 0.8 µg cm-2 vs 3.6 ± 1.6 µg cm-2 for the others). The multi-layer structure of masks and the composition of compostable plastic were the main factors responsible for these differences. Polystyrene and nitrile hosted a higher photoautotrophic biomass, with chlorophyll-a maxima higher than 50 µg cm-2 vs values lower than 10 µg cm-2 for compostable plastic. Inhibition of photosynthetic activity (darkness) allowed a greater biofilm mass, which in natural aphotic zone, may enhance the sinking of plastics. The large availability of carbon (eutrophication) allowed thicker biofilms, providing seawater of additional organic matter load. These biofilms could protect pathogenic organisms, especially on disposable protection equipment, allowing a larger spreading.

Conversion of waste biomass and waste nitrile gloves into renewable fuel.

The present study deals co-pyrolysis of neem seeds (NM) and waste nitrile gloves (WNG) in a semi-batch reactor with and without catalysts. Results confirmed that the yield of pyrolytic liquid was higher (43.52 wt% at NM: WNG ratio of 3:1) during thermal co-pyrolysis compared to that of catalytic co-pyrolysis (40.42 wt% and 37.14 wt% respectively with CaO and Al2O3 as catalysts). The use of catalysts increased the carbon content, acidity, and heating value and reduced the oxygen content, viscosity, and density of the pyrolytic oil. FTIR analysis suggested the presence of useful functional groups while 1H NMR analysis confirmed high amounts of paraffin and aromatic compounds in the pyrolytic oil. GC-MS analysis of pyrolytic oil confirmed that blending of NM + WNG and use of catalysts reduced the oxygenated compounds and increased the alcohol and aldehyde thereby enhancing the fuel properties.

An Evaluation of the Effect of Various Gloves on Polymerization Inhibition of Elastomeric Impression Materials: An In vitro Study.

BACKGROUND: Latex protective barriers such as gloves and rubber dam material have been used widely in restorative procedures for crown and bridge. However, the chemical used during latex glove fabrication is thought to inhibit the polymerization of elastomeric impression materials used for impression making which has a detrimental effect on the dimensional accuracy and surface definition of resultant casts used for restorative procedures. The objectives of the study were to examine the surface of different elastomeric impressions on contact with various gloves. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This clinical study included a total of eighty specimens of two types of the putty elastomeric impression material were hand manipulated by wearing three different gloves materials and is placed on a marked area of a clean and alcohol-treated glass slab at room temperature. The specimens examined for any signs of polymerization inhibition. The specimen will be rated as being "inhibited" if any residue remains on the glass slab and absence of the above will result as "no inhibition." RESULTS: The results showed no interference with the polymerization inhibition of the selected elastomers followed by the nitrile glove. The latex gloves showed inhibited set of the elastomeric impression material but set after sometime confirming time-dependent inhibition of the impression material. CONCLUSION: This study shows that the use of latex and sometime nitrile gloves during crown and bridge procedures should be contraindicated and the use of vinyl gloves should be stressed when working with elastomeric impression materials.

Mass spectrometric analysis of EPO IEF-PAGE interfering substances in nitrile examination gloves.

Direct detection of doping with recombinant erythropoietins (rhEPO) is accomplished by isoelectric focusing (IEF) or sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). In a recent publication, Lasne et al. (Electrophoresis 2011, 32, 1444) showed that improper use of nitrile examination gloves during sample collection, sample preparation, and IEF-PAGE may lead to distorted or absent EPO IEF-profiles. In order to clarify which substances are responsible for this observation, a mass spectrometric study on water extractable compounds found in nitrile gloves was performed. Several substance classes were shown to be present, among them polyethylene glycols (PEG), anionic and nonionic surfactants, as well as alcohol ethoxylates and plasticizers. It could be demonstrated that alkylbenzenesulfonates, the main category of detectable anionic detergents, and among them sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS) and its homologs, are the prime reason for the interference of nitrile gloves with EPO IEF-PAGE.