Tribological performance of surgical gloves: influence of glove material, double gloving, and intraoperative conditions on scalpel grip

Intraoperative grip security is a critical determinant of surgical safety, yet the tribological performance of surgical gloves against scalpel surfaces remains poorly characterized across clinically relevant variables. This study presents a systematic comparison of static friction coefficients (µs) between four surgical glove materials; latex, nitrile, polyisoprene, and neoprene, worn in both single and double configurations, tested against four scalpel handle surface topologies (flat, serrated, grooved, and groove-serrated) under four intraoperative contact conditions (dry, water-wet, blood, and blood-water). Electrostatic surface potential measurements were conducted in parallel to explore possible tribological mechanisms. Under bench-measurement conditions, double gloving consistently elevated µs by 3.4–4.9% relative to single gloving across all materials, surfaces, and conditions, without reducing the measured static friction coefficient. This friction advantage is consistent with the proposed interpretation of enhanced electrostatic surface potential arising from charge interactions within the double-glove configuration, though direct measurement of inter-glove charge transfer was not performed. Among the materials evaluated, latex and polyisoprene produced the highest friction coefficients in both gloving modes, followed by nitrile and neoprene, a ranking likely governed by the elastic modulus of each elastomer and its capacity to conform to microscale surface asperities. The blood-water contact condition and serrated surface topology yielded the highest µs values across all configurations. These findings provide experimental tribological evidence to support future recommendations for surgical glove selection, identify polyisoprene double-gloves as the latex-free configuration with the highest measured static friction coefficient under the tested bench conditions among the four materials evaluated, and substantiate double gloving as a tribologically beneficial rather than merely protective practice.