Synthesis and application of PMMA emulsion for coating medical natural latex gloves

ABSTRACT: Natural latex gloves are prone to allergies and adhesion during use. Corn starch and talc, while improving adhesion, do not solve the allergy problem. These powders even increase allergy transmission pathways, as well as creating safety hazards such as granulomas. Depositing polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA)-chitosan (CS) on glove surfaces improves surface adhesion and does not become airborne like powders. However, the physical stability of the film formed by PMMA-CS deposition leaves much to be desired, and azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) and hexadecane present safety hazards. To ameliorate these problems, in this paper, PMMA-CS was prepared by replacing AIBN and hexadecane with tween-80 and β-cyclodextrin, and PMMA-TOFA was prepared by using methyl methacrylate (MMA) and tall oil fatty acid (TOFA).The sulfur-prevulcanised natural rubber (SPNR) films deposited with PMMA-CS and PMMA-TOFA (PMMA CS/PMMA-TOFA/SPNR) had fewer safety hazards, higher roughness and physical stability.It is expected that this research can be applied to the inner and outer surfaces of medical gloves to reduce the safety hazards that exist in medical gloves.