As SARS-CoV-2 transmission by fomites is one of the main concerns of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the World Health Organisation (WHO) advised on the use of protective gloves for handling contaminated surfaces and fomites. The shortage in the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) due to the surging demand in conjuncture with the disposal of an unprecedented quantity of contaminated PPEs into the landfill, led to an interest for alternative platforms for the management of PPEs. In this study, we evaluated the potential of re-using gloves after repeated disinfection cycles using six readily available and common sterilization methods: UV, ethanol, heat, steam, bleach, and Quats (Quaternary ammonium compounds) for the inactivation of SARS-CoV-2. For this, two commercially available medical grade gloves, i.e. nitrile and vinyl (polyvinyl chloride) gloves were tested. Both types of gloves showed deterioration in mechanical and thermal performance with the use of quats as sterilization treatment while no remarkable change in properties was observed up to 20 cycles of disinfection for the other sterilization methods. The exceptions were that the vinyl and nitrile gloves did not tolerate steam/dry heat and UV treatment over 10 cycles due to likely dehydrochlorination and thermal degradation, respectively. Subsequent rounds of sterilization caused no significant change in the glass transition temperature (T_g) of either medical gloves, however quats caused a slight reduction in T_g due to its plasticizing effect. Overall, the physical sterilization treatments including steam, dry heat, and UV allowed the gloves to retain their thermomechanical performance up to ten cycles of sterilization.

由于由铁氧体传播的SARS-CoV-2是冠状病毒疾病（COVID-19）的主要问题之一，因此世界卫生组织（WHO）建议使用防护手套来处理受污染的表面和铁氧体。个人防护设备（PPE）的供应短缺，是由于需求激增，再加上将前所未有数量的受污染PPE处置到垃圾填埋场，这引起了人们对PPE管理的替代平台的兴趣。在这项研究中，我们评估了使用六种现成的常用消毒方法（紫外线，乙醇，热，蒸汽，漂白剂和季铵盐（季铵化合物））使SARS-CoV灭活的重复消毒周期后重复使用手套的可能性。 -2。为此，购买了两副市售医用级手套，即 测试了丁腈和乙烯基（聚氯乙烯）手套。两种类型的手套均表现出机械性能和热性能的下降，因为使用季铵盐进行灭菌处理，而其他灭菌方法在进行多达20次灭菌后，性能均未见明显变化。唯一的例外是，乙烯基和丁腈手套在10个循环中均不能忍受蒸汽/干热和紫外线处理，这分别是由于可能会发生脱氯化氢和热降解。随后的几轮灭菌未引起玻璃化转变温度的明显变化（两种类型的手套均表现出机械性能和热性能的下降，因为使用季铵盐进行灭菌处理，而其他灭菌方法在进行多达20次灭菌后，性能均未见明显变化。唯一的例外是，乙烯基和丁腈手套在10个循环中均不能忍受蒸汽/干热和紫外线处理，这分别是由于可能会发生脱氯化氢和热降解。随后的几轮灭菌未引起玻璃化转变温度的明显变化（两种类型的手套均表现出机械性能和热性能的下降，因为使用季铵盐进行灭菌处理，而其他灭菌方法在进行多达20次灭菌后，性能均未见明显变化。唯一的例外是，乙烯基和丁腈手套在10个循环中均不能忍受蒸汽/干热和紫外线处理，这分别是由于可能会发生脱氯化氢和热降解。随后的几轮灭菌未引起玻璃化转变温度的明显变化（T _g），但由于其增塑作用，季铵盐会使T _g略有降低。总体而言，包括蒸汽，干热和紫外线在内的物理灭菌处理使手套保持了高达十个灭菌周期的热机械性能。