Polymeric Biomaterials Synthesized by Radiation Techniques ± Current Studies at IARC, Poland†‡ Piotr Ulanski*, Ireneusz Janik, Slawomir Kadlubowski, Marek Kozicki, Piotr Kujawa, Miroslaw Pietrzak, Przemyslaw Stasica and Janusz M. Rosiak Institute of Applied Radiation Chemistry, Technical University of Lodz, Wroblewskiego 15, 93-590 Lodz, Poland ABSTRACT WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW For over 15 years the Institute of Applied Radiation Chemistry in Lodz, Poland, has been involved in studies on new polymeric biomaterials. Some of the technologies developed employ radiation techniques for the synthesis of crosslinked products (mainly hydrogels), for surface modification and for sterilization. An example of a mature technology of this kind is hydrogel wound dressings, now being produced on a large scale and available on the market in many Central European countries. Another advanced project is a hydrogel system for healing endometrium cancer by precise, local drug delivery. Preliminary clinical tests with over 70 patients have been completed with very good results. Current research projects, besides further develop- ment of the above mentioned systems, include: a hydrogel-based system for local, controlled drug delivery; polymer materials for encapsulation of living cells and for the construction of hybrid artificial organs; a new approach to the synthesis of polymeric material for intervertebral disc implant; temperature-sensitive mem- branes and supports for cell cultures; hydrogel phantoms for low-dose, three-dimensional radiation dosimetry; degradation-resistant nanogels and microgels for biome- dical purposes (e.g. synovial fluid substitute); hydrogel- based dietary products and adjustment of the molecular weight of biopolymers by ultrasound and ionizing radiation. Copyright  2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. KEYWORDS: biomaterial; hydrogel; implant; drug delivery; ionizing radiation INTRODUCTION WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW One of the most promising and rapidly developing applications of polymers is the field of biomaterials [1±4]. Among the various classes of polymeric products designed for biomedical purposes, much attention is attracted by hydrogels [5, 6]. They are defined as two-component systems consisting of a permanent, three-dimensional network made of covalently bound chains of hydrophilic polymers and water filling the free spaces within this polymer frame. At the Institute of Applied Radia- tion Chemistry (IARC) in Lodz, Poland, since the mid-1980s several technologies have been devel- oped to synthesize hydrogels for medical use by radiation technique. Some of them, like the produc- tion of hydrogel wound dressings [7, 8], have already been implemented on an industrial scale. This paper is a brief review of our current research activities in this field. POLYMERS FOR ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES Polym. Adv. Technol. 13, 951±959 (2002) Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI:10.1002/pat.249 Received 13 December 2001 Accepted 19 February 2002 *Correspondence to: P. Ulanski, Institute of Applied Radiation Chemistry, Technical University of Lodz, Wroblewskiego 15, 93-590 Lodz, Poland. E-mail: ulanskip@mitr.p.lodz.pl †These studies are partly ®nanced by the State Committee for Scienti®c Research (Poland), grants No. 4P05006417, 4P05E 061 10, 4P05E 058 19, 3T09B 053 19 and 4T09A 128 22. ‡This paper was presented at PAT 2001 ± Eilat, Israel. Copyright  2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.