Gel developed as alternative to alcohol-based hand sanitizers

University of Georgia researchers have developed a new type of hand sanitizer that eliminates more than 97% of bacteria and fungi, including antibiotic-resistant strains. The new gel provides an alternative to traditional, drying alcohol-based sanitizers.

The gel formula, called NORel, significantly outperformed an alcohol-based sanitizer by maintaining effective antimicrobial activity as long as two hours after application. The alcohol-based gels the researchers tested had long evaporated and taken their antimicrobial agents with them by that time. Typical hand sanitizers evaporate shortly after application and lose much of their microbe-killing power within 30 to 60 minutes.

NORel’s potential as a long-lasting, powerful hand hygiene solution is particularly promising for high-risk environments such as hospitals, clinics and long-term care facilities.

The new gel relies on the disinfecting abilities of nitric oxide, a molecule that naturally occurs in the body and plays a critical role in helping fight off infections.

“Regular hand sanitizers with alcohol in them do a pretty good job at killing bacteria when you apply them initially,” said Elizabeth Brisbois, lead author of the study and an associate professor in the UGA College of Engineering. “We showed that the nitric oxide persists on the skin for a longer period of time, so it’s kind of an extended protective effect. That was the most exciting result.”

The work is published in the journal Biomaterials Science.

New sanitizing gel performs as well as alcohol-based sanitizer currently on the market

Fortified with antimicrobial and moisturizing ingredients like ethanol, tea tree oil and glycerin, NORel gel harnesses the proven antimicrobial benefits of nitric oxide in other skin-related applications, such as wound healing and acne treatment.

“We started thinking more about what exactly hand sanitizers are made of,” Brisbois said, “and how we could incorporate nitric oxide into a typical hand sanitizer.”

Much like other NO applications Brisbois and her colleagues have studied, the formula holds promise for use as a hand sanitizer in health care settings, preventing associated infections for both health care professionals and the patients they treat.

The gel’s antimicrobial activity is on par with commercial, alcohol-based sanitizers containing 62% ethyl alcohol.

Next up? Testing the gel against pathogens like COVID-19, which shut down the globe in 2020, as well as improving the gel’s shelf life.

“In this initial project, our focus was on formulating the hand sanitizer and evaluating its effectiveness against bacteria commonly associated with medical device infections,” Brisbois said. “Further research to improve the formulation chemistry and assess its efficacy against other infectious agents, such as viruses and additional types of fungi, as well as improving its stability at room temperature, would help advance this technology.”