A material that disinfects hands upon touch?

[kake]

For a project I need to find out if there are any solid materials that disinfect hands upon touch. I know there are anit-bacterial coatings and nanotechnology that disinfects the object, but is there anything that would disinfect whatever touches it??

 

Any help would greatly appreciated!

[John Cuthber]

It's difficult to get a solid material to touch, for example, the whole of your hands. The products used are generally liquids. I guess an alcohol gel or some such is about the closest to a real answer.

[cameron marical]

I dont know much chemistry but If alchohal can be solidified and keep Its pathogen-killing qualities, you could probably use that. maybe have something like a hand imprint{front and back} and just touch them.

 

Though I am really just guessing...

[Externet]

Solid ? ... An iron bar. Red hot is still solid.

[jackson33]

For a project I need to find out if there are any solid materials that disinfect hands upon touch. I know there are anit-bacterial coatings and nanotechnology that disinfects the object, but is there anything that would disinfect whatever touches it??

 

Any help would greatly appreciated!

 

Most of nano tech would be involved in coating (possibly the hands) and have already gone enviormentally friendly (not toxic or dangerous) but I don't think this is what you looking for. Since they are considered solid (opposed to liquid), maybe you can figure something out....

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4696434.stm

Scientists in Australia have developed an environmentally friendly coating containing special nanoparticles that could do the job of cleaning and disinfecting for us.

---------

 

What you probably looking for is something like a reaction from touching, which could be a spray of some nano solid spray. Like finger print security, but disinfecting instead. Another possibility might be dipping, say into a basically enclosed area. Since a disinfected it could be used by hundreds (opposed to medical gloves).

[Green Xenon]

For a project I need to find out if there are any solid materials that disinfect hands upon touch. I know there are anit-bacterial coatings and nanotechnology that disinfects the object, but is there anything that would disinfect whatever touches it??

 

Any help would greatly appreciated!

 

No offense but anti-bacterials are bad. Most bacteria are good for us. We need bacteria to protect us from pathogenic microscopic fungi -- such as athlete's foot.

 

In addition, most anti-bacterial substances are directly toxic to our cells.

 

Read my post on "my favorite bacteria" -- http://www.scienceforums.net/forum/showthread.php?t=40732

[John Cuthber]

"No offense but anti-bacterials are bad."

No offense, but sweeping generalisations are bad.*

 

There are clearly cases where dropping the net number of bugs on the skin is a good idea. What would your opinion be of a surgeon who didn't swab the skin before he cut into it?

Also if you think that you have, for example, just covered your hands with the flu virus, a disinfectant is a fairly good idea.

 

* I'm English; I understand irony.

[Sisyphus]

No offense but anti-bacterials are bad. Most bacteria are good for us. We need bacteria to protect us from pathogenic microscopic fungi -- such as athlete's foot.

 

In addition, most anti-bacterial substances are directly toxic to our cells.

 

Read my post on "my favorite bacteria" -- http://www.scienceforums.net/forum/showthread.php?t=40732

 

No offense, but this:

 

Also, I never take anti-biotics even when the doctor says so. Bacteria are good for us.

 

makes me think you shouldn't be giving medical advice.

[John Cuthber]

Green Xenon, are you aware of this event?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Death

[Green Xenon]

"No offense but anti-bacterials are bad."

No offense, but sweeping generalisations are bad.*

 

There are clearly cases where dropping the net number of bugs on the skin is a good idea. What would your opinion be of a surgeon who didn't swab the skin before he cut into it?

Also if you think that you have, for example, just covered your hands with the flu virus, a disinfectant is a fairly good idea.

 

* I'm English; I understand irony.

 

You have a valid point. During surgery, anti-septic is a must because most foreign microbes will cause a deadly inflammation response if they enter the bloodstream. The mast cells react to the foriegn body causing brain-damaging fevers and blood clots that can lead to stroke/heart-attack.

 

Hence, the blood must remain sterile at all costs.

 

However, most bacteria on the skin/mucous membranes is a good thing.

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No offense, but this:

 

 

 

makes me think you shouldn't be giving medical advice.

 

There is research that show anti-biotics to be toxic to us.

 

http://www.answers.com/topic/antibiotics-side-effects

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Green Xenon, are you aware of this event?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Death

 

 

That's most likely caused by a virus, not bacterium.

[Sisyphus]

There is research that show anti-biotics to be toxic to us.

 

http://www.answers.com/topic/antibiotics-side-effects

 

Yes, just not as toxic as the pathogenic bacteria that would be the reason your doctor is giving you those antibiotics. Nobody is claiming that all bacteria are harmful. You're the one making sweeping statements like "bacteria are good for you," and claiming you know better than medical science. It's like you're a bacterial lobbyist or something.

[John Cuthber]

You have a valid point. During surgery, anti-septic is a must because most foreign microbes will cause a deadly inflammation response if they enter the bloodstream. The mast cells react to the foriegn body causing brain-damaging fevers and blood clots that can lead to stroke/heart-attack.

 

Hence, the blood must remain sterile at all costs.

 

However, most bacteria on the skin/mucous membranes is a good thing.

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There is research that show anti-biotics to be toxic to us.

 

http://www.answers.com/topic/antibiotics-side-effects

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That's most likely caused by a virus, not bacterium.

 

Still wrong.

If I cut my finger or snag it on a rose thorn I end up with a hole in my skin just the same as if I have surgery.

Bacteria will get in but (unlike your idea) most of them will do no harm. Most bacteria don't do very well at 36C, fairly high oxygen saturation and slightly alkaline conditions. To those that can't cope with such conditions, my blood might as well be bleach.

Even those that can survive will usually soon be mopped up my my immune system.

Lets be clear about this. Most bacteria (which are foreign by definition- I wan't born with them) are harmless.

 

If a lot of bacteria which happen to be well adapted to causing infection get introduced into a cut (and they have no way to know, or care, if it's surgery or an accident) then, if my immune system doesn't destroy them quicker than they can multiply I get an infection.

It's likely to be localised but it may get into the bloodstream.

If it does it might damage the heart (though there's plenty of other ways it could kill me).

 

 

The reason for swabbing skin before surgery is to reduce the number of bugs in order to make life easier for the immune system.

People survived surgery before there were any antiseptics.

 

I really don't understand yourpoint of view. Sometimes you say that all bacteria are our friends but at other times you say they should all be though of as deadly.

 

Unsurprisingly, the truth is somewhere in between.

 

Also, if you had looked at the Wiki article (and I know Wiki isn't God- it can be wrong; but I really think it's correct in this case) you would have seen that the black death was caused by a bacterium. It's even named on the wiki page as good old y pestis.

So either explain why you didn't read it or explain why you said "That's most likely caused by a virus, not bacterium."

 

While you are checking out that page on Wiki you might as well check this one

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paracelsus#Contributions_to_toxicology

In particular read the bit that says "All things are poison and nothing is without poison, only the dose permits something not to be poisonous." and see if you can understand how it relates to the issue of the toxicity of antibiotics.