University of Manitoba researchers have found a way to improve the effectiveness of condoms by eliminating some sexually transmitted infections on condoms.
The study on silver nanoparticles found that when condoms were soaked in a special solution, it appeared to kill all traces of herpes and HIV on the condoms in lab experiments.
“This work can enhance the ability of a condom for safer use by adding another layer of defence,” said microbiologist Dr. Xiaojian Yao, the lead author of the study at the University of Manitoba.
The study used the combined power of silver’s well-known disinfecting properties and nanoparticle technology to effectively cleanse condoms of their HIV and sexually transmitted infections.
The breakthrough on condom research not only represents a new approach to sexually transmitted infections, but also the combination of two different technologies.
“It was the innovative, creative thinking to combine two technologies together that will have the most impact,” Yao said.
The impact of the research could benefit populations beyond Canada by affecting those in lower-hygienic areas of the world and developing countries, Yao said.
Yao and his research team are already looking past North America’s borders with confidence.
Stas Tikhonov, contract co-ordinator of men’s outreach at the AIDS Committee of Ottawa, said he has high hopes for the upcoming results of the study, but is cautious when considering the study’s early stages.
“Looking at the study, it looks like there’s no real potential for side-effects. It would reduce not only HIV transmissions but STIs,” Tikhonov said.
“It would change patterns; it would change how the epidemic is changing,” he said.
Tikhonov said he’s aware of past promises on HIV development and groundbreaking studies, but is hopeful on a positive outlook.
“In the 1980s they were predicting [a cure for HIV] by 1987, and then by 1995, and now the current estimate is 2015, and even then it doesn’t look like it’s really going to happen,” Tikhonov said.
“It’s a fantastic possibility,” he said. “But you don’t want to jump on a bandwagon particularly early and have it go nowhere.”
