VICTORIA -- The University of Victoria (UVic) has donated more than 200 litres of laboratory-made hand sanitizer to Island Health amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The university says that the sanitizer complies with all World Health Organization and Health Canada standards for effective use.
A team of seven UVic researchers took on the project, led by chemist David Leitch who had prior experience in the pharmaceutical industry.
“The ingredients are basic,” said Leitch in a statement. “It’s pharmaceutical grade 190- to 200-proof ethanol—much stronger than the spirits you get at the local liquor store—hydrogen peroxide and a softening agent like glycerin to make sure your hands don’t get dried out to the point of seriously cracking.”
He said the recipe is in line with World Health Organization guidelines, adding it's "easy, safe, useful and potentially life-saving for someone in this current climate.”
The university says it has launched dozens of research projects connected to the COVID-19 pandemic across a range of departments.
Two weeks ago, UVic and Camosun College were hard at work making thousands of face shields for frontline health-care workers.
