Fight Coronavirus, Start by Practicing Hand Hygiene

February 6, 2020

The recent coronavirus outbreak has sparked fear and people are finding ways to protect themselves. So, what exactly are the measures that work? Medical experts urge the public to practice hand hygiene and those that are sick to wear a mask. For healthy individuals, clean hands are far more effective in keeping the virus away compared to wearing masks.

Why Is It Important to Maintain Hand Hygiene?

As the hands are a significant medium for pathogen transfer, practicing hand hygiene is a lifetime habit to stay healthy. The spread of coronavirus is now an international concern and every individual should do their part to minimize it’s transmission rate.

Effective Hand Hygiene Practice

Dr Kalisvar Marimuthu, senior infectious disease consultant at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) mentioned that the best way to keep hands clean is to wash them with soap. However, in the occasion where soap and water are not available, hand sanitizers with at least 60% of alcohol is an alternative. For people that uses wet wipes, it is crucial to ensure that the wipes consist of at least 40% of alcohol for effective cleaning.

High Demand for Hand Hygiene Products

Because of the current outbreak of coronavirus, hand sanitizers are in high demand and are sold out in majority of the stores. There will be recurring and emerging diseases in the future and it is important for manufacturers to create sufficient amounts of products with the effective dosage of anti-bacterial component. One problem that consumers face is that these products are drying to the skin. So, to encourage frequent hand washing and proper hand hygiene, companies should offer products that are mild yet effective.

Formulation Guide: Mild Hand Wash

Phase	Material	Function	INCI Name	Supplier	% w/w
A	Tetrasodium EDTA	Chelating Agent	Tetrasodium EDTA	-	0.1
	Glycerin	Emollient	Glycerin	-	3.0
	Propylene Glycol	Emollient	Propylene Glycol	-	1.5
	Water	Solvent	Water	-	64.2
B	Maha CAB 35	Main Surfactant	Cocamidopropyl Betaine	Maha Chemicals	15.0
	WQ1200LG	Secondary Surfactant	Lauryl Glucoside	Maha Chemicals	10.0
	Eversoft ACS 30	Co-Surfactant	Sodium Cocoyl Alaninate	Sino Lion	5.0
C	Troycare BD55	Preservative	DMDM Hydantoin	Troy	0.5
D	NaCl	Thickener	Sodium Chloride	-	0.7
E	Citric Acid	pH Adjuster	Citric Acid	-	qs

Procedures

Predisperse phase A in room temperature
Add phase B to phase A and mix until homogeneous
Add phase C & D step by step while mixing
Adjust pH with citric acid solution until pH 6-7

End Product Properties

Property	Results
Appearance	Clear viscous liquid
pH	6.60
Viscosity, cps	3720 (25℃, Brookfield RVT, 12rpm, 3#spindle)

Formulation Guide : Hand Sanitizer

Phase	Material	INCI Name	Supplier	% w/w
A	Ethanol (95%)	Ethanol (95%)	-	65.0
	Deionized Water	Deionized Water	-	30.54
	Aloe Vera Extract	Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract	TEN	2.0
	SuperGel CE	Carbomer	Sino Lion	0.6
B	AMP-ULTRA PC 2000	2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol	ANGUS	0.36
C	Sinopol 25	Polysorbate 20	Sino Japan	1.2
D	Fragrance	Fragrance	-	0.3

Procedures

Disperse Carbomer into phase A and stir to mix well
Neutralize with phase B under agitation
Add Phase C under agitation
Add phase D under agitation, and then obtain the product.

End Product Properties

Property	Results
Appearance	Clear gel
pH	6.0 - 6.5
Viscosity, cps	13000~18000Pa.s (25℃, Brookfield RVT, 20rpm, 6#spindle)

Carbomer Shortage? Use CELQUAT® SC-230M or Maha Flow 100 Instead!

Formulation Guide : Hand Sanitizer with CELQUAT® SC-230M

Phase	Material	INCI Name	Supplier	% w/w
A	CELQUAT SC-230M polymer	Polyquaternium-10	AkzoNobel Global Personal Care	2.0
	Deionized Water	Deionized Water	-	31.75
	SD Alcohol 40-A	Denatured Alcohol	-	65.0
	Glycerin	Glycerin	Maha Chemicals	1.0
	Fragrance	Fragrance	-	0.25

Procedures

Add CELQUAT SC-230M polymer to the deionized water and half of the denatured alcohol. Mix, using moderate agitation, until solution thickens.
Add the remaining amount of denatured alcohol and increase the level of agitation to high. Mix until homogeneous.
Pre-mix glycerin and fragrance. Add to the batch and mix until homogeneous.

End Product Properties

Property	Results
Appearance	Clear gel
pH	6.5 - 7.0
Viscosity, cps	8,500 – 12,500 cps (RVTD, Spindle 4, 20 rpm)

Formulation Guide : Hand Sanitizer with Maha Flow 100

Phase	Material	INCI Name	Supplier	% w/w
A	Deionized Water	Deionized Water	-	q.s. to 100.00
	Ethanol	Ethanol	-	62.0
	Maha Flow 100	Acrylates/Beheneth-25 Methacrylate Copolymer	Maha Chemicals	6.40
	NaOH (10% w/w)	Sodium Hydroxide	-	q.s.
	Glycerin	Glycerin	Maha Chemicals	1.0
	Fragrance	Fragrance	-	0.25

Procedures

Mix water with Maha Flow 100 and agitate at 500 rpm for more than 20 minutes.
Add ethanol during agitation.
Add NaOH drop by drop slowly until desired pH is achieved.
Add Glycerin and fragrance

End Product Properties

Property	Results
Appearance	Clear gel
pH	6.5 - 7.0
Viscosity, mPa.s	2600

Solutions for Alcohol Shortage

Formulation Guide: Water-Based Hand Sanitizers

Phase	Material	INCI Name	Supplier	% w/w	% w/w
A	Propylene Glycol	Propylene Glycol	-	5.0	5.0
	Glycerin	Glycerin	-	5.0	5.0
	Water	Water	-	q.s. to 100.0	q.s. to 100.0
B	K-CARE CHG	Chlorohexidine Gluconate	Maha Chemicals	4.0	-
B	K-CARE BKC80	Benzalkonium Chloride	Maha Chemicals	-	1.65
C	Aloe Vera Extract BG	Aloe Barbadensis Extract, Butylene Glycol	TEN	1.0	1.0
C	Chamomile Extract BG	Chamomille Recutita (matricaria) Flower Extract, Butylene Glycol	TEN	1.0	1.0
D	AMP ULTRA PC 2000	2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol	Angus	q.s.	q.s.

Procedures

Predisperse phase A in room temperature
Add phase B and phase C while mixing
Adjust pH to 6 – 7.5 with AMP Ultra PC 2000 if necessary

End Product Properties

Property	Results
Appearance	Clear – Slightly hazy liquid
pH	7.0 - 7.5

A clean hand is a caring hand

Encourage consumers to practice hand hygiene now!! Contact us for free samples!!