Durability of radiation-sterilized polymers, 2

The degradation during storage after electron beam and γ-ray irradiation on to polymers for disposables syringes was investigated in connection with the decay curves of chemiluminescence amounts. The degradation during storage of homopolypropylene was relatively small, large part of polymers having been degraded during irradiation. The degradation during storage of copolypropylene occurred at earlier stage up to three months, while in later stage, it hardly proceeded. The degradation during storage of electron beam irradiated samples were far smaller than that γ-ray irradiated ones. Irradiation of 2.5 Mrad with electron beam caused degradation only a little during storage. It was suggested that the degradation during storage depend on degree of oxidation during irradiation. The degradation during storage was not observed for radiation resistant polypropylene and polymethylpentene. The degradation during storage of coprolypropylene was affected by atmosphere, being smaller in vacuo than in air. (author)