A Cheap and Effective Glovebag for the Undergraduate Laboratory Gregory A. Hartmann and Rlck Gaston Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, Carbondale, IL62901-4409
Recenth during an undergraduate organic laboratom, we had t h i need to use a glovebag for measuring a sensitive chemical. Since small commercial glovebags cost about $30-40 and it was necessary to obtain the glovebag quickly, we decided to construct a home-made glovebag out of 10 1-eallon-sized Zio-Locfreezer storaee baes and a oair of dishGashing glove& both of which are avaylable at-any local supermarket or convenience store. Each of the six 11in. x 11in. Zip-Loc bags are cut along the seams on both sides of the bag and opened up lengtbwise oroducine an individual sheet measurine 11 x 22. ~hree'ofthese kodified bags are laid side by sidesuch that all of the Zip's are aligned with eacb other and all of the Loch are aligned with each other. The bags are connected with small strips of duct tape which are applied to both the top and bottom of the internal seams. The duct tape is apdied such that the entire seam between the Zip and Loc is ;overed. The outer sides of the set of three bigs are left untaped. This gives a sheet which is approximately 22 x 33 in. This same procedure is then performed in its entirety on the other three Zip-Loc bags. The two sheets of three bags are connected by first laying one sheet on top of the other and aligning the Zip's from one sheet with the Loc's from the other sheet. Duct tape seals both sides of eacb free seam as before.. There should now be a circular sheet of six Zip-Loc bags, held together a t the seams by small strips of duct tape on both sides of the bag, in which the Zip-Loc's are all located on the inside of the circular sheet. This is the main portion of the glovebag. The gloves for the glove bag are made by turning two Zip-Loc bags inside out and cutting a hole in the bottom of eacb bag .. large - enough for a hand to fit through. A dish washing glove is then inserted into the hole such that the open end of the glove is just on the inslde of the inside-out zip-Loc bag. ~ h e ~ l o $ v econnected to the bag by applying a generous amount of tape to the glove both on the inside and outside of the bag. The taping on the outside can be facilitated by having someone make a fist and placing it just inside the open end of the glove. The Zip-Loc bag is then taped to the glove right a t the position of the fist. The two "sleeved" gloves are connected to the main glovebag by first Zip-Locing each into place a t the far right end far left
96
Journal of Chemical Education
of the glovebag, and then duct taping the seams to secure the gloves to the bag. An entry portal for chemicals, glassware, etc. is made by taking the last two Zip-Loc bags and completely cutting the bottom seam on both bags. One of the bags is turned inside out and the cut bottoms are olaced next to eacb other. The bottoms are connected by dbct-tapingthe inside and outside of the seams. Thc Zip-Locportion of the insideout bag is connected to the main glovebag by being Zip-Loced into dace in the middle of the elovebae oooosite the glove side. It is then firmly held in pl&e by the application of duct tape. If any "large" pieces of equipment need to be placed in the glovebag, they should be put in at this time before the final sealing of the glovebag'. At this point, the glovebag is completely sealed up by duct taping all of the remaining openings except for the end of the entry portal. A small piece of Tygon tubing is taped into one corner of the bag so that the inert gas can be introduced. The glovebag that results is very comparable to commercial glovebags losing little to no gas over a I s 1 5 min work period depending upon bow well the taping was done.2The only major drawback that this glovebag has to commercial ones is the strips of duct tape that slightly prevent an unhindered view of the inside of the glovebag. However, considering that the bag can be made in about 1hour for less than $3 and can be customized to be either bigger or smaller depending upon user preference, the advantages far outweigh this drawback.
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'If a very large piece of equipment needs to be put inside, this should be done before the attachment of the entrv oortal. We out an odd g tal topload ng oalance ins de so that tne stients c o d'welgh ~ d recfly ns ae tne g oveoag. Smce the coro neeos to come 01.1 ofthe bag, I m s t be tapeo Into place at one corner of the bag m~chI fie the Tygon tubing. 'This has held true forthe numerous times that this sized giovebag has been made. Of the five larger sized glovebags that wire made (10 Zip-Loc bags for the main part instead of six Zip-Loc bags), one wmDletelv failed to hold aas inside durina its initial trial. UDon retaoing connections on theoutside of the bag, the gas was ield in v& nicely. This underscores the importance of making sure that the taping is done properly.
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