If you are ever looking for it then it is on its way. A new ‘super condom’ to help fight HIV and offer more pleasure will soon be available.
Scientists from Texas A&M University Health Science Center, led by Mahua Choudhury, an assistant professor in the School of Pharmacy at Texas A & M, have developed a condom that they say will kill the HIV virus even if the condom breaks.
The team, one of 54 applicants selected out of 1,700 to receive the Grand Challenge in Global Health award from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which funds individuals worldwide to solve persistent global health challenges.
Their interest this round: an extremely low-cost, latex-free condom.
Unlike most male condoms, it is not made of latex, but instead from a new material—a strong, elastic polymer called hydrogel, which is a gel made primarily of water that has a number of applications already, including contact lenses and other medical uses. “Some people are allergic to latex, and others are just not comfortable with it,” Choudhury said. “Therefore, we wanted to create a novel material.”
To enhance its disease-preventing abilities, the condom will be enmeshed with a plant-based antioxidant that has been shown to have anti-HIV properties. This would be especially important if the condom were to break, for example, and thus neutralize its barrier effect. “If there is an accident or something happens,” Choudhury said.
“This antioxidant will be released and prevent the replication of HIV,” he said.
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