DETECTION OF IONIZING RADIATION TREATMENT IN GLASS USED FOR HEALTHCARE PRODUCTS

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Materials Science
• Radiation Physics

Background:

• Terminal sterilization of healthcare products often uses high-dose ionizing radiation.
• Ensuring the integrity of radiation sterilization is critical for product safety and regulatory compliance.
• Detection methods are needed to verify that products have undergone the prescribed irradiation process.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of thermoluminescence (TL) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) techniques.
• To determine if TL and EPR can identify the omission of radiation sterilization in glass blood test tubes.
• To analyze glass samples from two batches from the same manufacturer.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of glass samples using thermoluminescence (TL) dosimetry.
• Analysis of glass samples using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy.
• Comparison of irradiated and non-irradiated glass samples.

Main Results:

• Both TL and EPR techniques successfully detected radiation-induced damage in the glass.
• The methods allowed for the identification of glass tubes that were irradiated during manufacturing.
• The study yielded insights into the chemical composition of the analyzed glass batches.

Conclusions:

• TL and EPR are suitable methods for verifying radiation sterilization of glass blood test tubes.
• These techniques can serve as a quality control measure to detect fraudulent omission of sterilization.
• The findings support the use of these analytical methods in ensuring healthcare product safety.