Nyamwweya, N.N.; Abuga, K.O. Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizers – A Multidimensional Perspective. Preprints2020, 2020090337. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202009.0337.v1
APA Style
Nyamwweya, N.N., & Abuga, K.O. (2020). Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizers – A Multidimensional Perspective. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202009.0337.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Nyamwweya, N.N. and Kennedy O. Abuga. 2020 "Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizers – A Multidimensional Perspective" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202009.0337.v1
Abstract
The global use of alcohol based hand sanitizers (ABHS) as a means of controlling the transmission of infectious disease increased dramatically in 2020 as governments and public health agencies across the world advocated hand hygiene as a preventative measure during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the performance of these products is most commonly defined as a function of their alcohol concentration, they are multifaceted products in which an interplay of several factors is important in determining efficacy. The hand sanitizer tetrahedron, is a novel concept that considers both ABHS formulation factors and product performance factors from a multi-dimensional perspective. The four faces of the tetrahedron represent input/formulation factors: 1) the type and amount of alcohol, 2) inactive ingredients, 3) the type of formulation/delivery system and 4) manufacturing practices. The four corners of the tetrahedron represent output/product performance factors: 1) efficacy, 2) sensory characteristics, 3) usage, usability and compliance and 4) product safety/adverse effects. All factors are of importance to ensuring the effectiveness and utility of these products.
Keywords
hand sanitizers; hand rubs; alcohol based; disinfection; hand hygiene; coronavirus; COVID-19
Subject
Public Health and Healthcare, Primary Health Care
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
