Immediate hypersensitivity to natural rubber latex (NRL) has become increasingly common during the last 20 years. It is currently one of the most frequently encountered occupational diseases among the healthcare workers and a problem even in other occupations where protective gloves are used. Several groups at high risk for developing NRL allergy have been defined, including healthcare workers ...

The annual plant Taraxacum kok-saghyz, commonly called Russian dandelion, has recently gained commercial attention as an alternative source to the rubber tree, Hevea brasiliensis, for natural rubber latex. While producing rubber of equivalent quality, the potential application of TKS latex for hypoallergenic products remains to be determined. In order to quantify the allergenicity of TKS latex ...

Natural rubber (NR) latex collected from the Hevea trees exists as a colloidal suspension (Verhaar, 1959). The amount of latex obtained on each tapping is about 300 mL. The tapping is usually done once every 2–3 days for 9 months each year. Usually, the collected latex is treated with formic acid to coagulate the suspended rubber particles within the latex (Gazeley et al., 1988). After having b...

Natural rubber latex allergy is a public health issue that is yet to be addressed in many Australian hospitals. It is suggested that there is a widespread lack of awareness amongst hospital staff of the implications of this relatively new health problem. Natural rubber latex allergy is a cumulative, serious and incurable occupational health problem and a disabling disease. It can result in chro...

To increase the applications of Natural Rubber Latex Modified Fiber Reinforced HighPerformance-Concrete (NRLMFRHPC) in India, greater understanding of NRLMFRHPC produced with locally available materials such as cement , Fine aggregates , coarse aggregates, Metakaolin and Crimped Steel fibers is essential. In the present investigation, NRLMFRHPC has been produced with locally available aggregate...

Cytotoxicity of 14 glove materials representing 4 natural rubber latex, 6 synthetic rubber and 4 synthetic polymeric materials was evaluated using dimethylthiazol diphenyltetrazolium (MTT), agar overlay and filter diffusion tests. Cell responses after contact with extracts of glove materials and contact with glove materials were assessed. One synthetic rubber glove (nitrile rubber) and 2 synthe...

With the recent increase and awareness of natural rubber latex protein allergies, it is very important for all health care workers to understand and recognize the need to decrease and/or eliminate latex exposure in the rubber gloves and other rubber products for those individuals who are allergic to natural rubber latex. This study is based on a series of Lowry method of protein analysis. The f...

bacillus sp. sbs25, a gram positive bacteria isolated from soil was found to be effectivein the biodegradation of natural rubber latex. the products of latex biodegradation were separated from the ether extract by thin layer chromatography. gas chromatography and mass spectrometry showed the biodegradation of the major compound into three simpler fractions with low molecular weights. this was f...

Renewed interest in the identification of alternative sources of natural rubber to Hevea brasiliensis has focused on the Compositae family. In our search for Compositae models for rubber synthesis, we extracted latex from stems of two lettuce species: Lactuca serriola, prickly lettuce, and Lactuca sativa cv. Salinas, crisphead lettuce. Both species contained cis-1,4-polyisoprene rubber in the d...