Development and Evaluation of Personal Decontamination Processes

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Development and Evaluation of Personal Decontamination Processes

  • IRAS ID

    340828

  • Contact name

    Hazem Matar

  • Contact email

    h.matar@herts.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    University of Hertfordshire

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    2 years, 0 months, 0 days

  • Research summary

    This study will assess the efficacy of a new product that can be applied to skin to remove toxic chemicals including chemical warfare agents from contaminated skin. This product has potential to be used in both civilian and military settings if found to be effective. It has a number of advantages compared to the current product such as extended shelf life, cost and versatility to be incorporated in a number of different products such as wipes, mitts and a range of fabrics. The testing will evaluate the efficacy of this product against the currently used product against 3 chemical warfare agents and 3 chemical warfare agent simulants. Experiments will use a novel robust methodology to apply the products in an unbiased manner which exerts reproducible pressure and motions on the skin surface. To limit the use of human skin, these studies will only be performed against chemical warfare agents. The outputs of the experiments will allow us to compare the products with regards to the amount removed from the skin and how much has been degraded by the products.

  • REC name

    London - Bloomsbury Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    24/PR/0349

  • Date of REC Opinion

    28 Mar 2024

  • REC opinion

    Favourable Opinion