World's first antibacterial glove helps stop infections

^{The world’s first non-leaching antimicrobial medical glove has been launched to help prevent the spread of infections.}

Launched by latex glove manufacturer Hartalega Malaysia, together with research and development company Chemical Intelligence UK, the glove features in-built antimicrobial technology to kill microorganisms in order to prevent the spread of infections.

The product is available to private and public health organisations. It is the first glove to contain a new active microorganism-killing molecule designed to prevent the spread of bacteria to and from surfaces and people.

Since the technology in built into the glove, the product does not need further solutions or chemicals to kill antimicrobial activity. Independent testing showed that 99.999% of microorganisms were killed within five minutes of contact.

Chemical Intelligence was funded by Hartalega with the product being developed alongside chemist Dr Paul Wright and microbiologist, professor Richard James from the University of Nottingham.

Managing director of Hartalega Holdings Berhad, Kuan Mun Leong, said: “In the European Union alone, cross-contamination in hospitals results in 37,000 deaths a year at an additional cost of 7 billion euros. By renovating a medical device that has not been remodelled in over 30 years, our innovation is set to make waves in the healthcare industry and save lives across the globe.”

To help prevent barriers to access the product is being produced a low cost and is set to be introduced in hospitals around the world.

Founder of Chemical Intelligence, Rob Gros said of the partnership: “After years of development, we are delighted to finally release this product to market and truly believe it will make a significant difference in the fight against healthcare associated infections (HAIs). Like Hartalega, we have a passion for innovation and together we are the perfect partners to release this technology.”