IEST revises recommended practice on testing gloves and finger cots

Test procedures for evaluating their physical attributes and cleanliness are detailed in the newly revised publication

Gloves and finger cots used in cleanrooms aim to ensure the safety of the workers and to preserve the cleanliness of the process and product. Test procedures for evaluating their physical attributes and cleanliness are detailed in the new IEST-RP-CC005.4: Gloves and Finger Cots Used in Cleanrooms and Other Controlled Environments, which is now available from the Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology (IEST).

The revised Recommended Practice (RP) covers barrier gloves, knitted or woven gloves (with or without barrier palms), and heat-resistant gloves. It describes accepted methods for testing tensile properties, cut resistance, abrasion resistance, chemical compatibility, barrier integrity, heat resistance, ageing, outgassing, and static charge.

In addition, the document includes detailed procedures for the following tests:

• Particle release using the liquid-agitation particle generation method;
• Extractable matter with analyses for inorganic and organic extractables and total nonvolatile residue;
• Micro-organisms by sampling and quantifying bioburden present on the surface of gloves;
• Corrosion of surfaces caused by contact with gloves and finger cots.

Guidelines are also provided to assist users in the proper selection of gloves or finger cots.

Companies

• International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering