Glossary of Examination Gloves:

AQL
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration enforce Acceptable Quality Level (AQL) standards for all gloves. This quality specification relates to a glove's freedom from pinholes and typically refers to the barrier protection confidence level. The AQL is used by manufacturers to identify the maximum number of allowable defects (pinholes) per 100 units. A lower AQL number represents a higher quality product. Gloves inspected to an AQL of 2.5 must have fewer than 2.5 defects for every 100 gloves. The FDA specifies an AQL of 1.5 for surgical gloves and 2.5 for exam gloves.

ASTM
The American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) and various international groups develop standards and test methods for exam gloves and a variety of other products. Established in 1898, the nonprofit ASTM publishes voluntary consensus principles for materials, products, systems and services in a variety of industries. The FDA uses some of the standards and specifications developed by the ASTM to establish its requirements for examination gloves.

Industrial Gloves/B Grade Gloves
Commonly called industrial grade gloves or off-line gloves, these disposable gloves are designed for non-medical usage. They are ideal for any type of general-purpose use and serve as an excellent entry-level non-medical glove.

Elongation
Elongation relates to material’s elasticity. In other words, how far, in percentage of the original sample length, the glove stretches before it breaks. A glove with a higher elongation will stretch more before breaking.

Latex
Natural latex rubber is manufactured from a variety of plants, but mainly from the rubber tree. Like maple trees, rubber trees are tapped to collect their milky sap-like liquid. Latex exam gloves are made by dipping molds that look like hands into containers of liquid latex and chemicals. Once hardened, the finished product is stripped off the mold, packaged and sterilized.

Leaching
A glove manufacturing cleaning process, in which excess chemicals and/or latex protein are dissolved and washed away from the gloves.

Permeation
The movement of a substance through a thin film, such as an exam glove, on a molecular level. The chemical permeation of exam gloves can be measured in accordance to the Breakthrough Time (BTT), which is how long it takes a chemical to establish a permeation rate of one milligram per square meter, per minute through the protective coating. Gloves with the highest BTT offer the best resistance to chemicals.


Primary Skin Irritation Test
Testing to identify certain material that can trigger skin irritation. The test material, such as a piece of glove material, is attached to the skin of test subjects, such as rabbits or guinea pigs. After a period of time, the sites of application are evaluated for irritation.

Rhinitis
Inflammation of the mucous membrane lining the nose. Rhinitis actually describes a group of symptoms that include runny nose, itching and sneezing. These symptoms may develop as a result of colds or environmental irritants, such as allergens, and can last for weeks or even longer.

Sensitization
The process of developing an allergy. According to a latex allergy alert published by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the incidence of latex sensitization among healthcare workers is estimated to be between 8 and 12 percent.

Tensile Strength
How much force in pounds per square inch (psi) is required to stretch an exam glove until it breaks. A higher tensile strength implies a stronger glove.

Vulcanization
A type of manufacturing process in which latex exam gloves are treated and hardened from gel form into a solid state inside a heating oven. This curing process is necessary so that the polymer chains of the rubber elastomers are cross-linked, giving latex exam gloves the elasticity. Curing agents can involve a variety of chemicals, including peroxides and agents such as ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, trimethylolpropane and trimethacrylate.