Condoms could be set for a makeover that might not only boost couples’ sex lives but encourage safe sex, according to researchers.

Experts say a big-turn off for condom use is a lack of lubrication: current latex condoms are relatively rough, which can lead to breakage and discomfort, while commercial lubricants, including those applied by manufacturers to condoms, wear off during sex and may not be something couples want to apply.

A survey last year revealed that almost half of young people in the UK do not use a condom when sleeping with a new partner, stoking concerns about the spread of sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies.

Now scientists say they have developed a condom that becomes slippery when wet – a development they believe will be met with a resounding yes, yes, yes from consumers.

“The idea was could we come up with technology where the condom would be kind of self-lubricating? In other words, in the presence of just moisture or water or vaginal fluids, it would basically become slippery,” said Prof Mark Grinstaff, a co-author of the study from Boston University.

Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, the new research involved the use of water-loving polymers that can be bound to the surface of the latex by a 30-minute exposure to UV light in the presence of two other substances. When this coating comes into contact with water, for example through bodily fluids, it becomes slippery.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Grinstaff Group at Boston University, the researchers behind the study led by Prof Mark Grinstaff, front row, fourth from right. Photograph: Courtesy Boston University

“Those water-loving polymers hold on to the water at the surface and that makes it slippery,” said Grinstaff, adding that all three substances used are already employed in other medical devices, and that the coating could be added as a final step in condom production without the need to change current the condom manufacturing process.

Writing in the journal Royal Society Open Science, the team describe a series of tests in which the new material was compared with regular latex, and latex covered with a water-based lubricant from a bottle, in an effort to explore whether it had tangible benefits.

The results of friction tests showed that the new material dunked in water was far more slippery than conventional latex and water, and only slightly less slippery than latex smothered in lubricants. What’s more, when the team looked at how slipperiness changed over time, they found the self-lubricating material remained consistently slippery over the course of 1,000 cycles, or 16 minutes, of repeated movement against a skin-like surface made of polyurethane. Meanwhile, the latex coated in lubricant showed a “decrease in lubriciousness”.

Research in the late 80sfound that most couples’ lovemaking only involves between 100 and 500 thrusts, but the condom’s designers say the new material has properties that might outlast the stamina of its users.

The team also asked a small group of 33 participants, 13 of whom were male, to feel the three types of material before and after they had been dunked in water, without being aware of which was which. They were then quizzed on how slippery they felt each was, which they would prefer to use during sex, and whether having condoms made out of that material would see them reaching for the box more often.

The results show that 85% of the group said that, after water was applied, the new material was the most slippery, while 73% said they’d prefer to use condoms made of the new material and several participants said it might increase their usage of condoms.

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Grinstaff said they results were a pleasant surprise. “The next step would be a study with partners to see if in fact this does translate to a physical outcome of more enjoyable sex,” he said, adding that tests had shown the self-lubricating latex matched up to existing materials for strength and safety against leakage.

The team already having filed a patent for the idea and hope their self-lubricating condoms will be on the market within the next two years.

“The last advance in condom technology is more than 50 years ago, and that was when silicon oil got introduced as a lubricant,” said Grinstaff. “We are using our grandparents’ technology in the 21st century, which is crazy.”