The present application relates to an elastomeric article, such as a glove, comprising: (i) an elastomeric film comprising one or more film layers, and including an external surface and an internal surface, (ii) an antimicrobial agent that is effective against both beneficial and harmful microorganisms on the external surface of the elastomeric film, and (iii) a skin-protective agent selected from a probiotic, a prebiotic, or a combination thereof on the internal surface of the elastomeric film; wherein the inner surface of the film is free of an antimicrobially-effective amount of an antimicrobial agent that is effective against both beneficial and harmful microorganisms. The elastomeric articles may further comprise a barrier film layer that provides separation between the antimicrobial agent and the skin-protective agent. Also described are methods for the manufacture of such articles.

The present invention generally relates to vulcanization compositions used to vulcanize elastomeric articles, where the vulcanization compositions have reduced allergenic potential as compared to elastomeric articles formed using vulcanization compositions having non-fugitive accelerators. The present invention also relates to elastomeric articles formed using the vulcanization compositions. The invention further relates to methods for making a reduced-allergenicity vulcanization composition, and to methods for using the vulcanization compositions to vulcanize elastomeric articles.

A chloroprene polymer latex composition being a mixture of a chloroprene polymer latex A and a chloroprene polymer latex B, in which a 2,3-dichloro-1,3-butadiene copolymerized amount in a chloroprene polymer of the chloroprene polymer latex B is 3% by mass or more, a toluene insoluble content of the chloroprene polymer of the chloroprene polymer latex B is 70% by mass or more, a weight average molecular weight of a toluene soluble content in the chloroprene polymer latex A is 5,000 to 250,000, and a specific mass ratio b/a is 0.10 or more.

A chloroprene polymer latex containing: a chloroprene polymer, at least one selected from the group consisting of rosin acid, sodium rosinate, and potassium rosinate; and at least one selected from the group consisting of sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide, in which a toluene insoluble content of the chloroprene polymer is 10% by mass or less, and a weight average molecular weight of a toluene soluble content is 5,000 to 200,000.

A chloroprene polymer containing at least one selected from the group consisting of a homopolymer of chloroprene and a copolymer of chloroprene with 2,3-dichloro-1,3-butadiene, in which in gel permeation chromatography measurement of a toluene soluble content, the chloroprene polymer has a first peak having a weight average molecular weight of 500,000 to 900,000 and a second peak having a weight average molecular weight of 7,000 to 80,000, and a toluene insoluble content is 60% by mass or more.

One embodiment of the present invention relates to a chloroprene copolymer latex, a method for producing a chloroprene copolymer latex, a chloroprene copolymer latex composition, and a molded article or dipped product of a chloroprene copolymer rubber. The chloroprene copolymer latex is a latex of a chloroprene copolymer including monomer units derived from 2-chloro-1,3-butadiene (chloroprene) and monomer units derived from 2-methyl-1,3-butadiene, wherein the tetrahydrofuran insoluble content in the chloroprene copolymer is 20% by mass or less, and the proportion of the monomer units derived from 2-methyl-1,3-butadiene is 10 to 27 mol % in the chloroprene copolymer.

A composition for rubber, including a chloroprene-based polymer latex (A), a metal oxide (B), an antioxidant (C), a surfactant (D) and a pH adjuster (E), and being free of a vulcanization accelerator, in which a tetrahydrofuran (THT) insoluble matter content in a chloroprene-based polymer in the (A) is from 50 mass % to 85 mass %, and in which contents of the (B), the (C), the (D), and the (E) with respect to 100 parts by mass of a solid content of the (A) are from 1 part by mass to 10 parts by mass, from 0.1 part by mass to 5 parts by mass, from 0.1 part by mass to 10 parts by mass, and from 0.01 part by mass to 5 parts by mass, respectively.

The present invention provides a chloroprene-based polymer latex composition, which has a low residual amount of mercaptans with hygiene concerns remaining, and which can obtain a chloroprene-based polymer dip-molded article having excellent flexibility and high breaking strength even with use of less vulcanization accelerator and sulfur, due to the plasticizing effect of a low molecular weight polymer and the use of a heteroaromatic ring-based compound.

According to the present invention, there is provided a chloroprene-based polymer latex composition including a chloroprene-based polymer latex, a metal oxide, and a heteroaromatic ring-based compound, wherein the chloroprene-based polymer latex composition includes 0.5 to 15.0 parts by mass of the metal oxide and 0.1 to 10.0 parts by mass of the heteroaromatic ring-based compound per 100 parts by mass of solid content of the chloroprene-based polymer latex, the chloroprene-based polymer latex composition has a content of alkyl mercaptan compounds of 0.34 parts by mass or less per 100 parts by mass of solid content of the chloroprene-based polymer latex, and the heteroaromatic ring-based compound is represented by chemical formula (1).

The present invention is directed to a plug for sealing a puncture in a tyre, whereby the plug comprises a head portion and a tail portion, the head portion comprising: a porous material that comprises open pores and capable of absorbing >0.02 grams of water per gram of porous material; and an accelerant selected from the group consisting of a salt, a polar solvent, an acid, and any combinations thereof, wherein the accelerant is retained in the pores of the porous material and is configured to react on contact with a curable sealant selected from the group consisting of anionic stabilized sealants, steric stabilized sealants and anionic colloidal dispersions thereby reducing curing time of the sealant, and wherein the porous material does not comprise the sealant.

The present invention generally relates to vulcanization compositions used to vulcanize elastomeric articles, where the vulcanization compositions have reduced allergenic potential as compared to elastomeric articles formed using vulcanization compositions having non-fugitive accelerators. The present invention also relates to elastomeric articles formed using the vulcanization compositions. The invention further relates to methods for making a reduced-allergenicity vulcanization composition, and to methods for using the vulcanization compositions to vulcanize elastomeric articles.