Effect of beta and gamma ray sterilization on the properties of polymeric materials for biomedical applications

The goal of this study is to evaluate the effect of sterilization by gamma and beta radiation on the properties of four different polymeric specimens for biomedical use: a PVC pipe for connection in dialysis and heart surgery devices; a PVC band for enteral and parenteral nutrition bags, a TRIFLEX pipe (internal PE, middle PE/PVC, external PVC) for connection, a PC rigid pipe for the connection of tubes and bags for infusions. The effect of sterilization was studied by means of tensile mechanical characterization, thermo-gravimetric and morphological analysis and FT-IR spectroscopy. UV-VIS spectroscopy was used to evaluate the yellowing index, determined by radiation exposure. For each specimen, a no-sterilized one was tested for comparison.