Partnership that mitigates cross contamination fits like a glove
Two world leaders in their respective fields have combined their expertise to create Europe’s first bona fide antimicrobial nitrile examination gloves.
Unigloves new Fortified single use gloves incorporate silver ion technology from BioCote, which has been scientifically proven to destroy 90 per cent of bacteria within just 15 minutes and 99.5 per cent in only two hours.
BioCote is also proven to be effective against E.coli and Salmonella, antibiotic resistant superbugs such as MRSA, VRE, CPE and CRE, invasive fungi species such as Candida auris, plus H1N1 influenza, H7N9 and the current Aussie flu strain.
Exposure to BioCote treated materials (like the surface of the Fortified glove) prevents microbial colonisation. It also renders them non-infectious, through protein and oxidative damage, membrane disruption, and DNA interference.
It’s a consistently reliable and proven complementary strategy for the cross-contamination issue prevalent within hospitals, treatment centres, care homes, and pharmaceutical facilities. Measures to control the spread of infection in such highly populated settings are widely practised, but currently have limited success.
Ionic silver particles are simply impregnated into the Unigloves synthetic nitrile (prior to vulcanisation) during production and homogenously dispersed throughout the rubber polymer, as opposed to being added as a surface coating which can wear off. Silver is an ideal antimicrobial agent due to its effectiveness against a range of microorganisms and this protection lasts the lifetime of the Fortified glove – it will not wear or wash off, or leach out.
Meeting medical standards for pinholes
Unigloves Fortified gloves meet the medical standard for pinholes (AQL 1.5) and are tested in accordance with EN455 (medical grade). They are latex and powder free, chemical resistant and are also available in sizes small to X Large. Visit www.unigloves.co.uk/products/glove-ranges/fortified/
Chris Wahlers, Managing Director of Unigloves, says: “As a renowned solutions provider, we’re confident that Fortified will quickly become a must have for our healthcare and hygiene critical clients. Such premises are a breeding ground because of shared facilities and enclosed spaces, circulated air, common contact surfaces and extended mixing. Common disinfectants have limited residual effects and bacterial populations are rapidly displaying increased resistance to them.
“Going the extra mile and protecting our gloves with a silver ion based BioCote antimicrobial agent will not only significantly reduce the risk of microbial contamination, but considerably improve duty of care to staff and customers.
“We have rigorously tested product efficacy to ISO 22196:2001, but partnering with BioCote has helped us no end, as they repeatedly test the real-life benefits of protected products by assessing their antimicrobial performance in the toughest environments such as hospitals and laboratories.”
Guy Charteris, Partner Development Manager for BioCote, adds: “Our quality control procedures really are second to none – products are subjected to 25-year accelerated life cycle testing. They require Unigloves to consistently demonstrate above our own global standards of antimicrobial performance to continue carrying our trademark. No other antimicrobial provider enforces this measure, but to their credit they welcome this level and degree of transparency too.
“What a forward thinking and innovative partner such as Unigloves also gets from BioCote is a complete support package. This covers all things antimicrobial, not to mention data to support any marketing claims (a legal requirement), plus of course peace of mind that its product and ours is doing exactly what we say it is.”
