Gel condoms : A New break through

Gel condoms : A New break through

 A new gel could make a "vaginal condom" that would physically entrap semen and anything it contains, including sperm and viruses such as HIV.Scientist Patrick Kiser and his team have developed the gel at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City Under experimental phase as of now ,it might take about three to five years before clinical trials begin.

The gel is liquid as long as it is in contact with the acidity that is normal in a vagina, but will turn solid when it encounters semen, which is slightly alkaline. Any particles wider than 50 nanometres – including sperm, HIV and other viruses such as the herpes virus and the papilloma virus, which causes cervical cancer – are trapped, so the gel could double up as both a protectant and a contraceptive.

 the objective is to give women in countries where HIV is rife a cheap way to protect themselves from viruses and pregnancy even if their partner is unwilling to wear a condom.

"We did it to develop technologies that can enable women to protect themselves against HIV without the approval of their partner," says Kiser, whose team has only tested the gel in the lab so far.

By staining HIV particles with a fluorescent dye Kiser's team were able to show that the solidified gel halted and trapped the virus.