title: Di-(2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate migration from irradiated poly(vinyl chloride) blood bags for graft-vs-host disease prevention.
abstract: Irradiation with 20-25 kGy is a process commonly used for sterilizing poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) medical devices. Moreover, whole blood and blood components undergo additional irradiation with 25-50 Gy to inhibit the proliferative capacity of lymphocytes and reduce the risk of transfusion-associated graft-vs-host disease (GVHD). Di-(2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate (DEHP) plasticized PVC is extensively used for the production of flexible medical devices including blood bags, but since DEHP is not covalently bound to PVC, it tends to migrate and leach out of the medical device, with harmful consequences for the patients. In this study, the effects of different doses of gamma irradiation on DEHP migration from PVC blood bags was investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis. Our findings indicate that irradiation with 25-100 Gy reduces the ability of DEHP to migrate from the blood bags, and in the case of a primary container a correlation between the doses of gamma ray irradiation was also observed. In particular, a decrease in DEHP leachability was obtained by increasing the dose of gamma ray irradiation.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Bioactive Polymeric Materials for Biomedical and Environmental Applications (BIOlab), Dept. Chemistry & Ind. Chemistry, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Marcella
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ferri
authors.forename: Ferri
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Marcella
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chiellini
authors.forename: Chiellini
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Federica
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pili
authors.forename: Pili
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Giorgio
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Grimaldi
authors.forename: Grimaldi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Luca
authors.forename: Elena Tiziana
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Florio
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pili
authors.forename: Pili
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Stefania
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cucci
authors.forename: Cucci
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Francesco
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Latini
authors.forename: Latini
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Giuseppe
mesh_terms: D001803:Blood Transfusion / Q000295:instrumentation*; D002152:Calorimetry, Differential Scanning; D004867:Equipment Design; D004869:Equipment Safety; D005720:Gamma Rays; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D061214:Patient Safety; D010968:Plasticizers / Q000737:chemistry / Q000528:radiation effects*; D011143:Polyvinyl Chloride / Q000737:chemistry / Q000528:radiation effects*; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013242:Sterilization / Q000379:methods*; D044366:Transition Temperature
chemical_list: D010968:Plasticizers; D011143:Polyvinyl Chloride