White Paper
Sterilization techniques commonly used in the healthcare industry, particularly gamma sterilization, can have a detrimental effect on thermoplastic polymers.
Ionization can cause substantial changes such as polymer chain scission and cross-linking, altering physical properties and/or appearance of plastics.
The increasing use of thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) materials in medical devices and surgical tools has necessitated evaluation of how different sterilization methods impact these materials.
This initial report examines the effects gamma sterilization has on a variety of TPE products available from RTP Company.
