The gloves selected for this study were chosen because they had been previously demonstrated to have superior durability in dry conditions [2]. Synthetic gloves included U.S. Medical Glove (nitrile examination gloves), Montgomery, IL, USA, Sensicare Neoprene (polychloroprene surgical gloves; Medline), Northfield, IL, USA, and Sensicare Micro (polyisoprene surgical gloves; Medline), Northfield, IL, USA. The natural latex gloves included Triumph Micro (latex surgical gloves; Medline), Northfield, IL, USA and Aloe Touch (latex examination gloves; Medline), Northfield, IL, USA. Glove sizes were selected to fit securely on the prosthetic hand of the Glove Assessment Device (GAD), namely, sizes medium and large or numerical sizes 6–8. Five trials were conducted for each sample/solvent combination with the exception of Sensicare Micro polyisoprene surgical gloves tested in PBS, which had four trials only due to one defective glove. Thicknesses were an average of three measurements taken at the middle finger of the glove.

The Glove Assessment Device (GAD) that was used to determine relative glove durability eliminates the need to manually inspect gloves for holes, or perform a water leak test, because it relies on a vacuum within the base of a prosthetic hand, which creates a seal when a glove is donned [11]. The two middle fingers of the hand are porous, allowing airflow into the base of the hand only when a puncture occurs in the glove. A pressure sensor causes the GAD to automatically cease operation when a pressure spike occurs due to a perforation in the glove. To induce a perforation, the GAD uses a strip of 120-grit waterproof sandpaper clamped onto a mobile drum that touches the fingertips of the prosthetic hand repeatedly at a set force. The sandpaper was replaced for each new glove tested. The liquid spray functionality of the GAD was used to simulate medical environments more realistically. All settings on the GAD were set to default [11] apart from the sprayer, which was set to spray the glove fingers once between each touch of the sandpaper drum. Data were collected over a period of three months.

The selected solvents were deionized water, phosphate buffered saline (PBS solution, Fisher Scientific, Pittsburgh, PA, USA), and 70% ethanol solution (Fisher Scientific, Pittsburgh, PA, USA). PBS closely mimics properties of human bodily fluids, including ion concentration, osmolarity, and pH. Ethanol is commonly used as a cleaning agent and disinfectant in medical facilities. DI water was used as a reference liquid and was also used to cleanse the tubing of the GAD when changing solvents.

The software JMP 16 was used for all statistical analyses in this study. These analyses included a two-way analysis of variance and Tukey-Kramer HSD tests. The two independent variables tested were glove type and solvent, and the independent variable was the average number of sandpaper touches until glove failure.