title: Effects of Terminal Sterilization on PEG-Based Bioresorbable Polymers Used in Biomedical Applications.
abstract: The effects of ethylene oxide (EO), vaporized hydrogen peroxide (VHP), gamma (γ) radiation, and electron-beam (E-beam) on the physiochemical and morphological properties of medical device polymers are investigated. Polymers with ether, carbonate, carboxylic acid, amide and ester functionalities are selected from a family of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) containing tyrosine-derived polycarbonates (TyrPCs) to include slow, medium, fast, and ultrafast degrading polymers. Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is used for comparison. Molecular weight (Mw) of all tested polymers decreases upon gamma and E-beam, and this effect becomes more pronounced at higher PEG content. Gamma sterilization increases the glass transition temperature of polymers with high PEG content. EO esterifies the carboxylic acid groups in desaminotyrosol-tyrosine (DT) and causes significant degradation. VHP causes hydroxylation of the phenyl ring, and hydrolytic degradation. This study signifies the importance of the chemical composition when selecting a sterilization method, and provides suggested conditions for each of the sterilization methods.
authors.affiliation: NJ Centre for Biomaterials, Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey, 145 Bevier Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA.
authors.forename: Divya
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bhatnagar
authors.affiliation: NJ Centre for Biomaterials, Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey, 145 Bevier Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA.
authors.forename: Koustubh
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dube
authors.affiliation: NJ Centre for Biomaterials, Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey, 145 Bevier Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA.
authors.forename: Vinod B
authors.initials: VB
authors.lastname: Damodaran
authors.affiliation: NJ Centre for Biomaterials, Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey, 145 Bevier Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA.
authors.forename: Ganesan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Subramanian
authors.affiliation: Johnson & Johnson Sterility Assurance, 930, US 202, Raritan, NJ 08669, USA.
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Aston
authors.affiliation: Johnson & Johnson Sterility Assurance, 930, US 202, Raritan, NJ 08669, USA.
authors.forename: Frederick
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Halperin
authors.affiliation: Johnson & Johnson Sterility Assurance, 930, US 202, Raritan, NJ 08669, USA.
authors.forename: Meiyu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.affiliation: Johnson & Johnson Sterility Assurance, 930, US 202, Raritan, NJ 08669, USA.
authors.forename: Kurt
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pricer
authors.affiliation: NJ Centre for Biomaterials, Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey, 145 Bevier Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA.
authors.forename: N Sanjeeva
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Murthy
authors.affiliation: NJ Centre for Biomaterials, Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey, 145 Bevier Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA.
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kohn
keywords: biodegradable; biomaterials; poly(ethylene glycol); sterilization; structure–property relations