We investigated the spectral property changes in anti-adhesion films, which were cross-linked and surface-modified through electron beam irradiation, using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS). Polyethylene oxide (PEO), which is a biocompatible and biodegradable polymer, was the main component of these anti-adhesion films being manufactured for testing. The terahertz characteristics of the films were affected by the porosity generated during the freeze-drying and compression processes of sample preparation, and this was confirmed using optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging. An anti-adhesion polymer film made without porosity was measured by using the THz-TDS method, and it was confirmed that the refractive index and absorption coefficient were dependent on the crosslinking state. To our knowledge, this is the first experiment on the feasibility of monitoring cross-linking states using terahertz waves. The THz-TDS method has potential as a useful nondestructive technique for polymer inspection and analysis.

In this paper, we report on terahertz spectral properties of polymer medical films cross-linked by electron beam irradiation. This is significant because it shows the potentials for novel technique to monitor of crosslinking state in polymer materials. We were able to clearly distinguished to cross-linked and noncross-linked medical films, which were manufactured with a PEO based synthetic polymer, in our conducted experiments. The THz-TDS method has potential as a useful nondestructive technique for polymer inspection and analysis.

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