Using COC as pharmaceutical or cosmetic storage material. II. Effect of electron beam radio‐sterilization

Abstract

This study was performed on cycloolefin materials. These polymers are more and more used in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical fields. Samples were subjected to an electron beam radio-sterilization. Different irradiation doses ranging from 25 to 150 kGy were used to study the irradiation effect on the structure and properties of the material. In this study, we were mainly interested in additive degradation, and in the modification of polymer thermomechanical properties, as elasticity, glass transition temperature, and swelling ability. Although the modification of the polymer chains was important, effect on thermomechanical properties was quite weak.

Physico-chemical ageing of ethylene–norbornene copolymers: a review

“…Our research team and other groups studied the degradation of polymer additives under ionizing radiation during the sterilization of plastic materials [145][146][147] and their degradation during storage [96,99,148]. Degradation products are formed and are able to diffuse from the polymer matrix into the surrounding environment [149][150][151].…”

“…The behaviour of COC in response to accelerated electrons is an important issue, but only a few papers can be found, corresponding to the work of two research teams: our team [96,97,114] and Cerrada's [115]. In those studies, Topas 6013 and 8007 as well as Zeonor 750R were irradiated with an electron beam of 10 MeV under air and ambient temperature.…”

“…When these materials are immersed in polar solvents, sorption of the solvent into the polymer promotes swelling of the polymer chains and thus helps the mobility of migrants. More significant migration of phenolic antioxidants such as Irganox 1010 Ò and BHT Ò can be observed in water during storage at elevated temperature 60°C, even if these additives are insoluble in water [96].…”

“…We studied additive degradation and modification of the polymer's thermomechanical properties, such as elasticity, glass-transition temperature and swelling capabilities [96]. The insoluble fraction (forming a gel) of irradiated polymer chains was investigated in toluene for 24 h, and it was shown that only Topas 8007 could give an insoluble fraction of 35% after an irradiation dose of 150 kGy, whereas neither Topas 6013 [115] nor Zeonex 850 underwent gel formation in the same conditions.…”

“…ENCs can undergo plasma, gamma or electron beam treatment in order to be sterilized, but most of the time a surface modification is desired [11,20,96,97,100,[114][115][116][117][118][119][120].…”