Scientific Publications by FDA Staff

J Test Eval 2014 May;42(3):20130069

Effect of Isopropanol and Ethanol on the Tensile Properties of Natural Rubber Latex Condoms.

Schwerin MR, Walsh DL, Zhang ZW

The use of isopropanol as a means to remove lubricants from natural rubber latex (NRL) condoms prior to tensile testing is considered acceptable per ASTM D3492-08. However, there is some indication in the technical literature that isopropanol may be detrimental to NRL. In this study, three different brands of NRL condoms were tested for tensile properties after exposure to either isopropanol or one of two different ethyl alcohols, and a control group was tested without exposure to any alcohol. Tensile rings cut from NRL condoms were soaked in the respective alcohols for one hour at 25 degrees C and 50 % relative humidity before undergoing tensile testing. The results of this study are presented along with statistical analysis of the data (thickness, force at break, tensile strength, and elongation). Although the analysis shows there were a few statistically significant differences in some of the measured parameters, the differences were relatively small in magnitude and likely of minimal scientific importance. Consequently, we conclude that under the conditions used in this study, the alcohols tested do not have a detrimental effect on the tensile properties of NRL condoms.