Resistance of gloves and protective clothing materials to permeation of cytostatic solutions

Objectives The objective of the work was to determine the resistance of selected protective clothing and glove materials to permeation of cytostatics such as docetaxel, fluorouracil, and doxorubicin. Material and Methods The following glove materials were used: natural rubber latex (code A), acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (code B) and chloroprene rubber (code C). In addition, we tested a layered material composed of a non-woven polyester (PES), a polypropylene (PP) film, and a non-woven PP used for protective coats (code D). The cytostatics were analyzed by liquid chromatography with diode array detection. The tested samples were placed in a purpose-built permeation cell modified to be different from that specified in the standard EN 6529:2001. Results The tested materials were characterized by good resistance to solutions containing 2 out of the 3 selected cytostatics: doxorubicin and 5-fluorouracil, as indicated by a breakthrough time of over 480 min. Equally high resistance to permeation of the third cytostatic (docetaxel) was exhibited by natural rubber latex, acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber, and chloroprene rubber. However, docetaxel permeated much more readily through the clothing layered material, compromising its barrier properties. Conclusions It was found that the presence of additional components in cytostatic preparations accelerated permeation through material samples, thus deteriorating their barrier properties. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2018;31(3):341–350