Latex is a material that can be found in nature as a milky fluid in 10% of all flowering plants, but synthetic latexes are also common. It is a colloidal dispersion of polymer particles in a liquid, and it is used to make many products, including gloves, swim caps, condoms, catheters, balloons, mattresses, and adhesives. Natural latex is obtained from the sap of organically grown rubber trees, while synthetic latex is derived from petroleum. Latex is a long chain of hydrocarbon polymer of cis-1,4-polyisoprene, and it is produced in special cells that form canals or tubes in various plant organs.

Latex is not the same as rubber, although it is a type of rubber. Latex in plants is generally a mixture of proteins, starches, tannins, sugars, alkaloids, oils, gums, and resins that coagulates when exposed to the air. Rubber can be considered as a polymer as well as an elastic material, and it is obtained from rubber plants or created commercially from petroleum oil and natural gases.

Latex has excellent flexibility and abrasion resistance, and it can be processed using rubber injection molding, extrusion, calendering, and compression molding. It is valued for its properties and is used in many types of clothing, including latex gloves and latex clothing, as well as in coatings and glues because synthetic latexes can form films without releasing potentially toxic organic solvents in the environment.

In summary, latex is a material that can be found in nature or produced synthetically, and it is a colloidal dispersion of polymer particles in a liquid. It is used to make many products, including gloves, swim caps, condoms, catheters, balloons, mattresses, and adhesives. Latex is not the same as rubber, although it is a type of rubber, and it has excellent flexibility and abrasion resistance.