Molecular Condoms
» Erotic Technology
There’s no denying that prophylactics are unerotic. Worse, some men allow illusions about penile sensitivity to engage in risky unprotected sex without a condom.
Science to the rescue:
According to the University of Utah press release, the mesh of molecules—at 30 to 50 nanometers wide—should be able to block any HIV particle, which is two to three times thicker (roughly 100 nanometers wide). This should also block sperm, which measure 5,000 to 10,000 nanometers (5 to 10 microns). One way to think about this nano scale is that a strand of human hair is generally about 100,000 nanometers wide (100 microns), making it 10 to 20 times thicker than sperm and 2,000 to 3,333 times thicker than an HIV particle.
What if the virus were to get past the double barrier of this nanoscopic mesh and the accompanying antiviral drug? The study’s senior author, Patrick Kiser, an associate professor of bioengineering at the University of Utah’s College of Engineering, says that after sex the vagina gradually becomes more acidic again, and any residual HIV particles would be inactivated by not only this acidity, but also the antiviral drug (such as tenofovir) within the remaining gel.
How condoms for men could be a thing of the past