Nitrile is petroleum based material made from Carboxylated Butadiene-Acrylonitirle. Nitrile material is an excellent barrier against oil-based chemicals making this glove very versatile within the medical community. All medical exam gloves are disposable, meaning the gloves are for single use purposes only. After every use, disposable gloves are to be trashed. This is to ensure users are protected from possible contamination.

Just because nitrile gloves are rated to be used against certain chemicals does not mean the material fully resists them. Disposable nitrile gloves have recommendations of how long the gloves can be worn after initial contact with chemicals. The time is determined based off of breakthrough time and permeation rate. In other words, tests are conducted to see how long it takes for chemicals to penetrate the nitrile material. If workers were to re-don the nitrile gloves after it was already used, there is no telling whether the glove can still provide adequate protection. For this reason, nitrile exam gloves should always be disposed of properly and immediately after every use. For this reason, only wear gloves you take out of the box itself or from packs.