Radiostability of pharmaceuticals under different irradiation conditions

Radiation Physics and Chemistry 72 (2005) 355-361

Anne-Sophie Crucq, Véronique Deridder and Bernard Tilquin,


In this paper, the products studied are cefazolin, glucagon and dobutamine HCl. The radioresistance of pharmaceuticals may depend on the conditions of irradiation. The best is to irradiate the drugs in solid state and the chemical transformations can be reduced also by lowering the temperature of the liquid. In solid state, the dose rate has no influence on the decomposition for the selected molecules and it should be noted that drug excipients selected for bioavailability reasons are not always radioprotectors. These results are important from a technical point of view in pharmaceutical industry.

Keywords: Gamma irradiation; Electron-beam irradiation; Radiosensitivity; Cefazolin; Glucagon; Dobutamine HCl; Pharmaceuticals; Radiosterilization