A new technology is set to reduce the allergic potential of latex gloves to virtually zero. The MPXX technology is used to wash latex during manufacture. The new process and the Cleantexx brand of examination and surgical gloves made using the technology, were introduced at the MEDICA trade fair in November.
Cleantexx gloves are produced by TOTAL GLOVE, a Dutch-Malaysian joint venture between Budev and the Malaysian manufacturer Latexx Partners. Budev has granted Total Glove the right to use its MPXX technology in a licensing agreement for the manufacture of latex gloves. The technology is used to wash the protein residue from the gloves as a final step in the manufacturing process. Current regulations require commercially available medical gloves to guarantee a latex protein content of less that 50 μg/g. The levels of the four allergenic proteins in gloves treated with the MPXX process are so small that they are not quantifiable by any of the standard methods.
