gamma-Irradiation of PEGd,lPLA and PEG-PLGA multiblock copolymers. I. Effect of irradiation doses.

To evaluate the effects of different gamma irradiation doses on PEGd,lPLA and PEG-PLGA multiblock copolymers. The behaviour of the multiblock copolymers to irradiation was compared to that of PLA, PLGA polymers. PEGd,lPLA, PEG-PLGA, PLA and PLGA polymers were irradiated by using a (60)Co irradiation source at 5, 15, 25 and 50 kGy total dose. Characterization was performed on all samples before and after irradiation, by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), infrared absorption spectrophotometry (FTIR) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The effect of gamma irradiation on polymer stability was also evaluated. Results of NMR and FTIR suggest an increase in -OH and -COOH groups, attributed to scission reactions induced by irradiation treatment. Data of GPC analysis showed that the weight average molecular weight (Mw) of polymer samples decreased with increasing irradiation dose. The extent of Mw degradation expressed as percentage of Mw reduction was more prominent for polymers with high molecular weight as PEGd,lPLA and PLA. The dominant effect of gamma-irradiation on both polymer samples was chain scission. The multiblock copolymer PEGd,lPLA presented higher sensitivity to irradiation treatment with respect to PLA, likely due to the presence of PEG in the matrix. The effect of gamma irradiation continues over a much longer period of time after gamma irradiation has been performed. It is suggested that the material reacts with oxygen to form peroxyl free radicals, which may further undergo degradation reactions during storage after irradiation.