US 5,089,205 AGranted

Process for producing medical devices having antimicrobial properties

AssigneeBecton, Dickinson and Company

InventorsWu-Nan Huang, Niles R. Manwill, Fung-Bor Chen

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Abstract

A process for imparting enhanced antimicrobial properties to medical devices, and particularly surgical and examination gloves, and to such gloves produced by the process. The process involves partially forming the gloves by dipping glove molds into a latex composition, for example, and prior to curing or heating to final form, dipping the already coated forms into a second composition containing an antimicrobial agent, and thereafter curing or heat setting the finally produced glove prior to stripping from the form. Alternatively, the antimicrobial composition can be additionally or independently applied to a cured glove before stripping. The result is a glove which prevents, or decreases the potential of, cross-contamination between the glove users and patients because it will kill or reduce the susceptible microorganisms prior to or after penetration of the basic material forming the glove.

Claims8

Dependent claims

A method for producing a medical device positioned adjacent the skin of the user, with the device having antimicrobial properties, the steps which comprise:

(a) selecting in a first selecting step gelled anionic natural latex for forming the final outer surface of said device;
(b) using the material selected in said first selecting step and forming in a first forming step the final outer surface of said device;
(c) selecting in a second selecting step gelled anionic natural latex for forming the final inner surface of said device to be positioned adjacent the skin of the user;
(d) incorporating into the material from said second selecting step an antimicrobial agent prepared by neutralizing a cationic antimicrobial agent with an anionic surfactant and solubilizing the neutralized agent with a nonionic surfactant to prevent incompatability of said cationic antimicrobial agent in said gelled anionic natural latex;
(e) using the material selected and modified in said second selecting and incorporation steps and forming in a second forming step the final inner surface of said device by coating said final outer surface of said device from said first forming step with the material selected from the second selecting step;
(f) in a third forming step, treating said device obtained by said second forming step to obtain a cured device in final form;
and
(g) stripping said cured device obtained in said third forming step from a forming apparatus.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.