There are two primary reasons to wear personal protective gloves when working with chemotherapeutic drugs. First, they protect you from exposure to a potentially harmful substance. Secondly, they protect the product itself from contamination.

Handle with care

Chemotherapeutic agents are chemical compounds that are produced to slow or stop the growth of cancer cells in the body. They are either cytostatic or cytotoxic by definition, which means that personal protective gloves are crucial protecting your hands, providing a barrier between you and the chemicals that are naturally damaging to human cells.

Gloves designed to be used in these drug-making environments are evaluated for their protective qualities when in contact with chemical substances. The evaluation is done by conducting a chemical permeation test under the guidance of two US industry consensus standards:

  • ASTM D6978: Assessment of Resistance of Medical Gloves to Permeation by Chemotherapy Drugs
  • ASTM F739: Standard Test Method for Permeation of Liquids and Gases through Protective Clothing Materials under Conditions of Continuous Contact

While ASTM F739 is the general method used to conduct chemical permeation testing, ASTM D6978 includes additional requirements specific to chemotherapy drugs.

Contamination Control

The production of chemotherapy drugs must be conducted under good manufacturing practices (GMP) in a sterile cleanroom environment to minimize these contaminants.

A variety of sources of potential contamination must be taken into consideration, including biological contaminants, particulates and undesirable chemical residues. Products contaminated with any of these can lead to unacceptable product loss, and contamination scenarios can be costly and time-consuming to rectify.

While personal protection is the priority when selecting gloves, protecting the product from external sources of contamination is equally important. Gloves play an important role in preventing any contaminants that may be on your skin from affecting the drug.

The right glove for the right job

Any gloves you wear should fit properly and be comfortable, but as you can see, when choosing appropriate gloves for use in the production of chemotherapy agents, it’s essential to choose a product you can be confident will protect yourself and the life-saving chemicals you handle.

 

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