The University of Hertfordshire - Providing Local Healthcare with Hand Sanitiser

As many of you will be aware, the Covid-19 pandemic has put a severe strain on the supply of much needed PPE equipment. As well as gloves and face masks, hand sanitiser has been in significant short supply since the beginning of April. To this end the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued a Critical Situation Permit, allowing external organizations to begin manufacturing hand sanitiser as needed. This much needed product will help to prevent the further spread of Covid-19 and ultimately save lives.

The University of Hertfordshire (UH) and Shimadzu UK have teamed up to help the cause. The University started the production of hand sanitiser using the WHO ethanol formulation and donated it to the Hertfordshire County Council for use with NHS and social care staff in Hertfordshire.

Manufacturing of the sanitiser from IPA has been performed at the Hertfordshire's School of Life and Medical Sciences, with the analysis and quality control testing being performed at Shimadzu evaluation laboratory in Milton Keynes. Using Shimadzu's latest GC systems, UH have managed to certify a large quantity of hand sanitiser fit for use that is now ready for donation.

Both, the University of Hertfordshire and Shimadzu hope this to be an ongoing collaboration for as long as the sanitiser shortage continues.