Evaluation of Apparatus Used to Test Liquid through Protective Materials: Comparison of a Modified Dot-Blot Apparatus to the ASTM Penetration Cell.

Personal protective equipment (PPE), such as gowns used in the latest Ebola outbreak in Western Africa, are critical in preventing the spread of deadly diseases. Appropriate test systems and test soils are needed to adequately evaluate PPE. ASTM F903, , has been used for decades to test fabrics' resistance to liquid penetration.

Interactions of Staphylococcus aureus with ultrasoft hydrogel biomaterials.

Ultrasoft biomaterials-polymers, gels, and human soft tissues with an elastic modulus less than ∼100 kPa-are increasingly used in medical devices. While bacterial interactions (adhesion and biofilm formation) have been extensively studied on stiffer materials, little is known about how bacteria colonize ultrasoft materials as a nidus for infection. The goal of this work was to determine how material properties of ultrasoft hydrogels used for dermal fillers might affect pathogenesis of associated infections.

Estimation of shelf life of natural rubber latex exam-gloves based on creep behavior.

Samples of full-length glove-fingers cut from chlorinated and nonchlorinated latex medical examination gloves were aged for various times at several fixed temperatures and 25% relative humidity. Creep testing was performed using an applied stress of 50 kPa on rectangular specimens (10 mm x 8 mm) of aged and unaged glove fingers as an assessment of glove loosening during usage. Variations in creep curves obtained were compared to determine the threshold aging time when the amount of creep became larger than the initial value.