Radiation effects on physically cross-linked agarose hydrogels

As a potential matrix of three-dimensional gel dosimeter, agarose hydrogels will be used for measuring radiation doses, hence the importance of studying their radiation resistance and radiolysis mechanism. Physical property and chemical structure of physically cross-linked agarose hydrogel samples irradiated to 0–200 k Gy by60 Co γ-rays were analyzed by universal testing machine, gel permeation chromatography, fourier transform infrared spectrometer, ultraviolet visible spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, and gas chromatography. The results showed that agarose hydrogels had good radiation stability below 25 k Gy, and the maximum compression strength of sample was ca. 0.1 MPa at 25 k Gy. The irradiated samples degraded obviously and liquefied gradually with increasing doses. Compared with unirradiated sample, carbonyl groups, which generated from the molecular chains of agarose hydrogels, were observed at 25 k Gy and increased gradually with dose. The main gas products evolved from irradiated agarose hydrogels were H2, CO2, CO and CH4. Based on the analysis of radiolytic products, the radiolysis mechanism of agarose hydrogels under γ-radiation was proposed.