Standard Lab Glove Additive Leaching After Alcohol Sanitizer Exposure

Problem Statement

This experiment determines whether standard laboratory gloves release measurable additive chemicals after exposure to alcohol-based hand sanitizer. The focus is on operational and experimental integrity risks, not medical, toxicological, or regulatory outcomes.

Hidden Assumption Being Tested

Alcohol-based hand sanitizers do not mobilize or extract chemical additives from commonly used laboratory gloves.

What Might Be True Instead

Alcohol sanitizer exposure may extract glove additives at measurable concentrations, introducing unintended chemical contamination into laboratory workflows.

Glove Types Tested

  • Nitrile examination gloves (powder-free, standard thickness)
  • Latex examination gloves (powder-free, standard thickness)
  • Vinyl examination gloves (standard formulation)

Use new, unused gloves only. Minimum of three replicates per glove type.

Sanitizer Exposure Protocol

  • Sanitizer: 70% ethanol (v/v)
  • Cut glove material into uniform 5 cm × 5 cm squares
  • Avoid cross-contamination between glove types
  • Submerge each square in 50 mL sanitizer for 2 minutes at 20–22°C
  • Remove using clean forceps; allow to drip dry vertically for 30 seconds
  • Do not rinse; proceed immediately to extraction

Extraction and GC-MS Analysis

  1. Place each exposed glove square into a clean glass beaker containing 50 mL HPLC-grade methanol.
  2. Extract for 60 minutes at room temperature without agitation.
  3. Transfer methanol extract to GC-MS vials with PTFE-lined caps.
  4. Analyze using GC-MS methods validated for glove additives, including plasticizers, stabilizers, and antioxidants.
  5. Prepare calibration curves for each target compound.
  6. Method limit of quantification (LOQ) must be ≤1 µg/mL.
  7. Run all extracts in triplicate to confirm reproducibility.

Binary Leaching Threshold

  • FAIL: Any detected target additive at a concentration ≥10 µg/mL (10,000 µg/L) in any extract.
  • PASS: All detected additives remain below 10 µg/mL in every extract.

Operational Relevance

A failure indicates that sanitizer exposure mobilizes glove additives, increasing the risk of chemical contamination in laboratory assays. This compromises sample purity, procedural reproducibility, and experimental reliability. No medical or toxicity claims are made.

Documentation Requirements

  • Glove type, manufacturer, lot number
  • Sample dimensions and mass
  • Exposure and extraction times
  • GC-MS method parameters and calibration data
  • Detected compound identities and concentrations
  • Pass/fail classification per glove type

Scope Boundaries

This experiment does not assess health risk, toxicity, regulatory compliance, or suitability for clinical use. Results apply only to additive mobilization under the specified sanitizer exposure conditions.

Edge-of-Practice experiments are designed for rapid execution, binary falsification, and direct laboratory reproducibility. No extrapolation beyond stated thresholds is permitted.