Formulation and Evaluation of Alcohol-Free Hand Sanitizer Gels to Prevent the Spread of Infections during Pandemics

Rayan Y. Booq, Abdullah A. Alshehri, Fahad A. Almughem, Nada M. Zaidan, Walaa S. Aburayan, Abrar A. Bakr, Sara H. Kabli, Hassa A. Alshaya, Mohammed S. Alsuabeyl, Essam J. Alyamani and Essam A. Tawfik
Additional contact information
Rayan Y. Booq: National Center for Biotechnology, Life Science and Environment Research Institute, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Riyadh 11442, Saudi Arabia
Abdullah A. Alshehri: National Center for Pharmaceutical Technology, Life Science and Environment Research Institute, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Riyadh 11442, Saudi Arabia
Fahad A. Almughem: National Center for Pharmaceutical Technology, Life Science and Environment Research Institute, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Riyadh 11442, Saudi Arabia
Nada M. Zaidan: Center of Excellence for Biomedicine, Joint Centers of Excellence Program, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Riyadh 11442, Saudi Arabia
Walaa S. Aburayan: National Center for Pharmaceutical Technology, Life Science and Environment Research Institute, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Riyadh 11442, Saudi Arabia
Abrar A. Bakr: National Center for Biotechnology, Life Science and Environment Research Institute, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Riyadh 11442, Saudi Arabia
Sara H. Kabli: National Center for Pharmaceutical Technology, Life Science and Environment Research Institute, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Riyadh 11442, Saudi Arabia
Hassa A. Alshaya: National Center for Pharmaceutical Technology, Life Science and Environment Research Institute, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Riyadh 11442, Saudi Arabia
Mohammed S. Alsuabeyl: Life Science and Environment Research Institute, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), 6086, Riyadh 11442, Saudi Arabia
Essam J. Alyamani: National Center for Biotechnology, Life Science and Environment Research Institute, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Riyadh 11442, Saudi Arabia
Essam A. Tawfik: National Center for Pharmaceutical Technology, Life Science and Environment Research Institute, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Riyadh 11442, Saudi Arabia

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 12, 1-15

Abstract: Hand hygiene is an essential factor to prevent or minimize the spread of infections. The ability to prepare an alcohol-free hand sanitizer (AFHS) with antimicrobial properties is crucial, especially during pandemics, when there are high demands and a low supply chain for ethanol and isopropanol. The objective of this study was to prepare AFHS gels based on natural materials that contain essential oils (EOs) that would be effective against a broad spectrum of pathogens. The results showed that the organoleptic characteristics of all prepared hand sanitizer gels were considered acceptable. The pH of the formulations was slightly acidic (circa 3.9) owing to the presence of aloe vera in large proportions (90% v / v ), which is known for its acidity. The spreadability for all tested formulations was in the acceptable range. The antimicrobial effectiveness test demonstrated that the prepared hand sanitizer gels had antimicrobial activities against different gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria and Candida albicans yeast. The highest antibacterial effect was observed with tea tree oil hand sanitizers, which lack activity against the yeast, while clove oil hand sanitizers showed effectiveness against all microorganisms, including Candida albicans . The lavender hand sanitizer exhibited the least antimicrobial efficiency. The acceptability study on 20 human volunteers showed that the hand sanitizer gel containing 1.25% ( v / v ) clove oil did not produce any signs of skin irritation. This study suggested that the prepared natural hand sanitizer gel with 1.25% ( v / v ) clove oil can be a potential alternative to commonly used alcohol-based hand sanitizers (ABHS).

Keywords: hand sanitizer; microbes; infections; essential oils; antimicrobial; alcohol-free; pandemics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/12/6252/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/12/6252/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:12:p:6252-:d:571969

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().