Nitrile gloves are thin, stretchy, single-use gloves made from nitrile rubber. They look a lot like latex gloves, but they contain no natural rubber latex. For anyone who reacts to latex, that difference matters.
We sell nitrile gloves by the case: 10 of them in 100% nitrile, from a 3 mil exam glove to an 8 mil diamond grip. Below: what nitrile is, how a glove gets made, and how to pick a grade, a thickness and a case.
The short answer
Nitrile gloves are disposable gloves made from nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR), a synthetic rubber with no natural latex. NBR resists oil and punctures better than natural rubber. Gloves come in exam and industrial grades; ours run 3 to 8 mil, and most cases hold 1,000.
What is nitrile
A synthetic rubber from two chemicals
In one line
Nitrile is a synthetic rubber made by linking two chemicals, acrylonitrile and butadiene, into long chains. Its full name is acrylonitrile butadiene rubber, NBR for short.
So what is nitrile, beyond the chemistry? It is a rubber built in a plant, not tapped from a tree. Chemists in Germany developed nitrile rubber in 1931, and it is now one of the most widely used synthetic rubbers, partly because it costs less than the other synthetics.
Those two ingredients pull in different directions. More acrylonitrile makes the rubber harder and better at shrugging off oil and nonpolar solvents. Less of it keeps the rubber flexible in the cold. Depending on the grade, acrylonitrile makes up 18% to 50% of the rubber, per a 2023 review. For more, see the NBR chemistry on Wikipedia.
If you searched "what is nitrile gloves," that is the whole idea: the glove takes its name from the rubber. That same material shows up in fuel hoses, O-rings and oil seals, because it holds up against oil and fuel.
What nitrile gloves are made of
Rubber, plus a few helpers
Nitrile gloves start as nitrile latex. In a glove factory, latex simply means fine rubber particles suspended in water; here the word does not mean sap from a rubber tree. Hence the common question about latex in nitrile. There is no natural rubber latex in it.
Ask what are nitrile gloves made of and the answer is mostly rubber, plus a few helpers mixed into the latex before dipping:
| Ingredient | What it does |
|---|---|
| Nitrile latex | Forms the glove film itself |
| Stabilizers | Keep the rubber particles evenly mixed in the bath |
| Sulfur & accelerators | Crosslink the rubber so it stretches, then springs back |
| Antioxidants | Protect the glove from oxygen while it sits in storage |
| Pigments | Give the glove its color |
Every 100% nitrile glove we sell is listed on its product page as powder-free and non-latex. Two of our other gloves, Blue Nitro-V and Black Nitro-V, are a nitrile and vinyl blend, and their pages list them as free from latex and accelerators. Our 100% nitrile gloves make no accelerator-free claim, so we don't make one for them either.
How nitrile rubber gloves are made
Dipped & cured on a hand mold
Nitrile rubber gloves are dipped, not cut and sewn. Hand-shaped molds called formers ride a line through tanks and ovens, and the nitrile butadiene rubber arrives as liquid latex. A 2023 review of medical glove materials lays out the steps:
Step 1: Clean the formers
The hand molds are washed and dried so the rubber film forms evenly.
Step 2: Dip in coagulant
The molds go into a coagulant bath, usually a metal salt solution. It helps the latex grab the mold and spread in an even layer.
Step 3: Dip in nitrile latex
The coated molds dip into the compounded nitrile latex, and a thin rubber film gels onto each one.
Step 4: Pre-cure & leach
A first drying gives the wet film some strength. Then the gloves soak in hot water for 1 to 10 minutes to wash off leftover chemicals.
Step 5: Cure in the oven
Hot air vulcanizes the rubber, crosslinking it, most often with sulfur. For nitrile the usual range is 120 to 140°C, about 250 to 285°F. The glove reaches full strength as it leaves the oven.
Step 6: Treat the inside surface
Chlorination or a polymer coating makes the glove slide on and keeps it from sticking to itself. Powder used to do that job, until the FDA banned powdered surgeon's and patient exam gloves in a rule published December 19, 2016.
Medical vs industrial nitrile gloves
Exam grade or work grade
Same rubber, different job. In the US, medical nitrile exam gloves are patient examination gloves, which 21 CFR 880.6250 defines as a disposable device worn on the examiner's hand "to prevent contamination between patient and examiner." The FDA regulates medical gloves as Class I reserved devices that need a 510(k) premarket notification, and it reviews them for leak resistance, physical properties and biocompatibility.
For nitrile exam gloves, the ASTM specification is ASTM D6319, which covers nitrile gloves used for medical exams and diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Industrial gloves protect the wearer's hands at work. They are not reviewed as medical devices, but they often come thicker, with more grip, and some are made for food contact.
Two of ours show the split. Our blue exam grade nitrile is listed at 3 mil and $59.95 a case. Our black industrial nitrile is 3.5 mil, $62.95, and states that it complies with 21 CFR 177.2600, the FDA rule for rubber articles that touch food.
| Point | Medical (exam) grade | Industrial grade |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Patient care & body fluids | Shops, kitchens, cleaning, salons |
| Our gloves | 5, from 3 to 5.5 mil | 5, from 3.5 to 8 mil |
| Case price | $59.95 to $84.95 | $62.95 to $99.95 |
| Food contact claim | None stated | 3 list 21 CFR 177.2600 |
| Diamond grip | No | Yes, at 7 & 8 mil |
Thickness, color & texture options
Mil, color & grip
Glove thickness is measured in mil, or thousandths of an inch. Thin gloves give you feel; thick ones take abuse. Ours run from 3 to 8 mil, using the approximate figure on each product's spec line:
| Thickness | Our glove | Per case |
|---|---|---|
| 3 mil | Blue Nitrile Gloves (Medical) | $59.95 |
| 3.5 mil | Blue (Medical), Black or Blue (Industrial) | $61.95 to $64.95 |
| 4 mil | Black Nitrile Gloves (Medical) | $69.95 |
| 5 mil | Heavy Duty Blue (Medical), Black Heavy Duty (Industrial) | $72.95, $79.95 |
| 5.5 mil | Black Heavy Duty Nitrile Gloves | $84.95 |
| 7 mil | Black Diamond Grip Heavy Duty (Industrial) | $92.95 |
| 8 mil | Orange Diamond Grip (Industrial) | $99.95 |
We carry nitrile in blue, black and orange; see TGZ glove colors to shop by color. Our one vinyl glove is clear. Our product pages pitch blue as easier on the eyes over a long shift and black for keeping dirt and color stains out of sight. Orange comes on our 8 mil diamond grip.
Texture comes in two levels. Our 3 and 3.5 mil gloves have a smooth finish with textured fingertips. The two diamond grip gloves carry a raised diamond pattern made for oily or wet work.
What nitrile gloves are used for
Clinics, kitchens, shops & salons
Short answer to what are nitrile gloves used for: almost any job where your hands need a barrier and still need to work. NBR is a common material for disposable lab, cleaning and exam gloves, and for gloves in food service and medicine. Our collections and product pages cover:
- Clinics, dental and vet offices: exam gloves for patient and animal care
- Restaurants and food prep: the industrial nitrile in our food industry gloves that lists 21 CFR 177.2600
- Auto shops: gloves from 3.5 to 8 mil in our auto shop gloves
- Tattoo studios, nail salons and hair color: thin gloves for fine work
- Cleaning crews and janitorial work
- Home jobs like painting and plumbing
How to buy nitrile gloves by the case
Most cases hold 1,000 gloves
We sell every glove by the case. Most cases hold 10 boxes of 100, or 1,000 gloves. Some XL cases hold 900, so check the product description for the exact count. Pallets are available too.
Case pricing makes per-glove math easy. Our Black Nitrile Gloves (Industrial) at $62.95 a case come to about 6.3 cents a glove, or 12.6 cents a pair. The 8 mil Orange Diamond Grip at $99.95 works out to about 10 cents a glove in a 1,000-glove case.
- Pick the grade: exam grade for patient care, industrial for everything else.
- Pick the thickness: 3 to 4 mil for feel, 5 to 8 mil for heavy work.
- Pick the color and grip: blue, black or orange, with textured fingertips or diamond grip.
- Pick the size. Our gloves are ambidextrous and come in XS to XXL depending on the glove; a few sizes are sold out right now, so check the product page.
- Order the case. Shipping is free on contiguous US orders for a limited time, and most orders are processed within 1 business day.
To compare every thickness and price on one page, shop all nitrile gloves.
Nitrile glove questions
What our customers ask
What our customers ask
What is nitrile made of?
Nitrile is made of two chemicals, acrylonitrile and butadiene, linked into long rubber chains. That is why its full name is acrylonitrile butadiene rubber, or NBR. Most finished gloves also carry small amounts of sulfur and accelerators that crosslink the rubber, plus antioxidants and pigment. There is no natural rubber from trees in it.
Is nitrile butadiene rubber the same as latex?
No. Natural rubber latex comes from the sap of rubber trees and carries the proteins some people are allergic to. Nitrile butadiene rubber is synthetic. The confusion comes from factory language: makers call any rubber dispersed in water "latex," so nitrile gloves start as nitrile latex. If you have reacted to gloves before, ask a doctor before you switch.
Are nitrile exam gloves stronger than vinyl?
Yes, at least for leaks. A 1999 study of 2,000 gloves put each type through hand movements that mimic patient care. Afterward, vinyl gloves leaked 12% to 61% of the time, while nitrile failed only 1% to 3%. Vinyl still costs less and works for quick, light tasks.
Sources: Wikipedia: Nitrile rubber · Performance-Enhancing Materials in Medical Gloves (2023) · FDA: Medical gloves · 21 CFR 880.6250 · ASTM D6319 · Rego & Roley, Am J Infect Control (1999)
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