The scientists are now working on ways to make rubber more durable. That would mean better protection for health workers relying on surgical gloves as a barrier to infection. It would also raise hopes that ancient condoms carried around in pockets and wallets will still do their job when finally they see the light of day. Natural rubber latex is the best material for condoms and surgical gloves, says Professor Bob Gilbert, Director of the Key Centre. However, rubber's biological origin also gives rise to unique problems.
Some people are highly allergic to the proteins in it.
Polymers are giant carbon-based molecules made of repeating units of smaller molecules threaded together like beads on a necklace. Skin, DNA, vinyl and plastics are also polymers. Rubber latex, like milk and paint, is also a colloid, meaning that its polymer particles are suspended in a liquid. Scientists have long been making synthetic substitutes for natural rubber. But none of the materials they have designed matches the natural product with its remarkable property of increasing strength as it stretches.