Condoms are going to receive a makeover that could not only improve the sexual life of couples, but also promote safe sex, according to a study carried out by experts from Boston University (USA) and which collects the journal Open Science.
Researchers say that one of the negative points for condom use is a lack of lubrication: current latex condoms are relatively harsh, which can lead to breakage and discomfort , while commercial lubricants, including those applied by manufacturers to condoms disappear during sexual intercourse and many couples are unwilling or unable -for lack of means- to buy lubricants to add to the condom during intercourse. In addition to the discomfort that results. It is, in a way, inconvenient for sexual intercourse. Hence this study is so important.
A survey last year found that almost half of young people in the UK did not use a condom when having sex with a new partner, raising concerns about the spread of sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies.
Fortunately, scientists claim to have developed a condom that becomes slippery in wet conditions, an achievement they believe will meet with more than round approval from consumers. We believe it too.
“ The point was whether we could come up with a technology where the condom is self-lubricating. In other words, in the presence of moisture, water or vaginal fluids, it would become basically slippery, ”says study co-author Mark Grinstaff.
Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the new research involved the use of superhydrated polymers that can bond to the surface of latex through a 30-minute exposure to UV light in the presence of two other substances. When this coating comes into contact with water, for example through body fluids, it becomes slippery.
This superhydrated nanoparticle coating includes three substances that have already been used in other medical devices, and such a coating could be added as a final step in condom production without the need to change the current condom manufacturing process, resulting in a cheap production cost.
The experts describe a series of tests in which the new material was compared to common latex; they basically coated a bottle with latex and a water-based lubricant, in an effort to explore whether it had tangible benefits.
Friction test results showed that the new water-immersed material was much more slippery than conventional latex and only slightly less slippery than latex dampened with lubricants . In addition, when the team observed how the slip changed over time, they found that the self-lubricating material remained slippery after 1,000 cycles or 16 minutes of repeated movements against a skin-like surface made of polyurethane. Meanwhile, the lubricant coated latex showed a “decrease in lubricity”.
In an experiment with 33 participants, 13 of them men, the results showed that 85% of the volunteers said that the new material was the most slippery of all, while 73% said that they would prefer to use condoms made from the new material and that You could even increase your use of condoms.
Grinstaff said the results were a pleasant surprise. “The next step would be a study with couples to see if, in fact, this translates into a more pleasant physical result of sex,” adding that tests showed that the self-lubricating latex matched existing materials for strength and safety. against leaks.
The team had already filed a patent for the idea and expect its self-lubricating condoms to be on the market within the next two years.
“The last advance in condom technology was more than 50 years ago, and that’s when silicone oil was introduced as a lubricant. We’re using our grandparents’ technology in the 21st century, which is crazy,” Grinstaff continues. .
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will now put an additional million dollars on the table to develop these fantastic condoms, whose main requirement was that they could be produced at an affordable price in developing countries.
Reference: Royal Society Open Science: Friction-lowering Capabilities and Human Subject Preferences for a Hydrophilic Surface Coating on Latex Substrates: Implications for Increasing Condom Usage http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/5/10/180291 / This content was financially supported by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (KB and DK) and the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship program
