Radiochemical sterilization RCS

To minimize or eliminate reliance on ethylene oxide and exploit reliability of assured sterility using radiation for absorbable polymers and particularly those used in tissue engineering, Shalaby and co-workers developed the radiochemical sterilization (RC-S) process. The RC-S process represents a novel approach to the sterilization of certain mechanical devices, such as those made of absorbable polyesters, that are sensitive to high-energy radiation delivered at the traditional dose of 25 kGy. RC-S is a hybrid process encompassing the attributes of chemical high-energy radiation sterilization without the drawbacks associated with the use of the parent processes. RC-... 

Radiochemical sterilization (RCS) is an emerging technology. It is based on low-dose radiation sterilization in a dry environment at low temperatures in conjunction with the use of radiolytically and controllably generated formaldehyde gas at low levels. Details of the RCS process are described in the following excerpt from Shalaby, S.W., Doyle, Y., Anneaux, B.L., Carpenter, K.A., Schiretz, F.R. Radiochemical Sterilization and its use for Sutures (Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B (2003) 110-114) ... 

In a study by Carpenter and co-workers, three polymers (I, III, and IV) were made using TMP to prepare the respective polymeric initiators, as described in Section 3.23P In an effort to produce compliant monofilaments, these polymers were extruded to monofilaments and processed under slightly different conditions from those used in preparing their counterparts in section 3.2.3. One of the polymers (I) was used to prepare a second set of monofilaments for studying the effect of radiation dose, under a typical radiochemical sterilization process (RC-S) on their in vitro breaking strength retention (BSR). 

---