The main sterilisation methods used in industry are ethylene oxide (EtO), electron beam (e- beam) and gamma irradiation. These are effective sterilising techniques but they all have notable disadvantages; EtO relies on 60% humidity to sterilise effectively and can leave toxic residuals, e-beam has low penetration power so cannot pass through large numbers of components simultaneously and gamma radiation can cause chain scission or cross-linking which can change materials' properties. Bioresorbable polymers are difficult materials to sterilise with the current industrial scale sterilisation techniques. These sterilisation methods can damage the polymer through; hydrolysis when in a humid environment or chemical reactions such as chain scission and cross-linking, therefore they are not ideal. For EtO and e-beam the drawbacks cannot be diminished, but for gamma irradiation, methods have been found to reduce the negative effects on the materials' properties.
| Date of Award | Jul 2019 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Awarding Institution | - Queen's University Belfast
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| Sponsors | Nordion |
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Low temperature and inert atmosphere gamma sterilisation of bioresorbable polymers used in medical applications
Davison, L. (Author). Jul 2019
Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis › Doctor of Philosophy