Self-lubricating latex could boost condom use, says study

PARIS: A perpetually unctuous, self-lubricating latex developed by a team of scientists in Boston, the United States, could boost the use of condoms, they reported yesterday in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

Protective sheaths made with the specially treated membrane take on a slick and slippery quality in the presence of natural bodily fluids, lab experiments showed.

And unlike water- or oil-based lubricants added to commercially available condoms, the hydrophilic — or liquid-loving — latex retains its “slippery sensation” almost indefinitely.

“A majority of participants — 73 per cent — expressed a preference for a condom containing the lubricious coating, agreeing that an inherently slippery condom that remains slippery for a long duration would increase their condom usage,” the study concluded.

Most condoms are synthetic, manufactured from latex or polyurethane.

Without lubricants, these materials will chaff during “repeated articulations”. Added emollients wear off with use.

Discomfort during intercourse and reduced pleasure are often cited as reasons for not using condoms.

Researchers at Boston University led by Mark Grinstaff addressed these problems by adding a thin polymer coating of moisture-activated molecules that entraps liquid rather than repelling it, as latex does.