Although we are moving away from a disposable society, disposable nitrile gloves are still widely used in healthcare settings. However, thanks to the development of reusable viral gloves, this may not always be the case. Currently, the gloves are in the proof-of-concept stage and are being developed by a team led by Marquise Bell, a graduate student in mechanical engineering at Rice University.
They are made of composite fabric with a conductive layer on the outside and an insulating layer on the inside. The material could also be used in other garments, such as masks or coveralls.
Using a technique called Joule heating (where an electric current passes through a conductor to create heat), the outer surface of the glove can quickly heat to temperatures in excess of 100ºC (212ºF) while worn. This process is said to kill at least 99.9% of viruses on the gloves, such as SARS-CoV-2, which has caused major trouble in the world, in less than five seconds.
When this occurs, the temperature of the reverse side of the material (i.e. the surface in contact with the wearer's skin) will not exceed 36ºC (97ºF). For reference, the average normal human body temperature is 37ºC (98.6ºF).
"The best part is you don't even need to take off your gloves or other protective clothing to clean them," Bell said. "This material allows you to decontaminate in seconds so you can get back to the task at hand."
Garments made from the material can reportedly withstand hundreds of uses, and using just one pair could save 20 pounds (9 kilograms) worth of discarded disposable gloves from landfills.
A paper on the research was recently published in the journal ACSAppliedMaterialsandInterfaces.