Sterilization of Hydrocortisone Eye-Ointment by γ-Irradiation. I. Physical and Chemical Aspects

Many eye ointments cannot be sterilized by traditional methods. For this reason, a study on the application of radiosterilization would appear to be justified. This paper contains details of chemical and physical tests applied to irradiated samples of both a hydrocortisone eye ointment and its various components taken individually. The tests include changes of appearance and volume, measurements of physical properties (e. g. melting and slipping points, density, viscosity, ductility, etc.), pH-measurements, plots of UV-absorption curves, IR-spectrophotometry, etc. The conclusions suggest that radiation sterilization could be accepted for this ointment from the physical and chemical points of view. (author)