question for those who do research

[hippocampus]

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my research lab requires me to use lots of chemicals. when i handle those chemicals, i wear latex gloves cuz those are the only gloves in the lab. does it matter if i wear latex? or do i have to wear nitrile gloves? can the chemicals reach my hand by wearing latex?

 

[dabigv13]

my research lab requires me to use lots of chemicals. when i handle those chemicals, i wear latex gloves cuz those are the only gloves in the lab. does it matter if i wear latex? or do i have to wear nitrile gloves? can the chemicals reach my hand by wearing latex?

Depends on the chemicals. I usually wear nitrile gloves when I'm working with Xylene, but mostly I use latex. In any case no gloves are perfect protection, they just give you some time; you should take off the gloves, wash your hands, and put on new gloves if you think you've gotten any dangerous chemicals on you.

 

[hippocampus]

i used xylene with my bare hands before, like use tweezers to dip slides in xylene, or hold the container with xylene.. how bad is that?

anyways, i use latex for everything. those are the only gloves i have. i hardly wash my hands after i use latex gloves, cuz i do a lot of experiments where i have to wait 5 mins, asparate, wait 10 mins, asparate. 🙁 im screwed..


im asking cuz right now the palm of my hand feels like its burning, when i did not burn my hand. sorry.

 

[Hoberto]

Get out the MSDS for the chemicals you are using and KNOW how to handle them. The MSDS will tell you all you need to know and you should be familiar with the proper protection required for any chemicals or reagents you are using. This is particularly true if you spill some on you, on the floor, on equipment, on your labmates and so on.

Since you say you are using a lot of chemicals you probably should have access to nitrile gloves. If you find that you need nitrile (after reading the MSDS) then order some from your vendor.

If your PI refuses to order them you should report him/her. This is illegal and not something to screw around with, seriously.

I'm not trying to be a b*tch but sometimes labs are just too lackadaisical about safety and it's a serious issue that should be handled appropriately.

 

[dr_siba21]

my research lab requires me to use lots of chemicals. when i handle those chemicals, i wear latex gloves cuz those are the only gloves in the lab. does it matter if i wear latex? or do i have to wear nitrile gloves? can the chemicals reach my hand by wearing latex?

nitrile gloves have been carefully selected because of their high resistance to high solvency liquids including those commonly found in electron microscope laboratories such as ethylene dichloride, chloroform, cellusolve and various perfluorinated solvents such as Castrol Fluoroclean™ HE, Fluoroclean X100, and Perfluorosolv® PFS-2, ethylene dichloride and chloroform.


In addition to the high solvancy organics, nitrile gloves are also highly resistant to strong acids such as hydrochloric acid (HCl), chromic acid and hydrofluoric acid (HF). They also offer good protection against sodium hydroxide. Nitrile is the preferred glove when working with laboratory fixatives such as osmium tetroxide and glutaraldehyde.

nitrile gloves are the ulitimate glove for everything!
have the tactile characteristics almost as good as a latex examination glove. And unlike other gloves nitrile gloves are also manufactured with out the use of any powder anti-sticking agent. The gloves are 100% powder-free, and unlined. The gloves arrive ready to use and do not require further washing prior to some critical application.

fagging is my way to answer