The aim of this study was to determine whether the acrylonitrile (ACN) content influences the permeation resistance of disposable nitrile rubber (NBR) gloves to aqueous solutions of the pesticide captan. Attenuated total reflectance/Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectrophotometry at 2237 +/- 5 cm(-1) was used to measure the ACN contents of seven different NBR gloves. The ACN contents of the gloves ranged from 12.7 to 29.9%. Permeation was conducted according to American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Method F 739-99a with a gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis of captan in the hexane collection liquid. Significant correlations were found between (1) the ACN content and mass-to-area ratio and the logarithm of the steady-state permeation rate (SSPR; Pearson correlation coefficient = 0.9227, p <= 0.05), and (2) the ACN content and mass-to-area ratio and the ASTM normalized breakthrough detection time (NBT) at 0.25 mu g/cm(2) (Pearson correlation coefficient = 0.9471, p < 0.05). On average, the NBT increased 120 min for every 5% increase in the ACN content. The average SSPR ranged from 0.002 to 0.40 mu g/cm(2)/min, a 200-fold difference. Increasing the ACN content resulted in decreased SSPR. ATR-FTIR was useful in determining the NBR polymer ACN content, surface homogeneity, and potential glove chemical resistance. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.