STERILISATION OF TISSUES USING IONISING RADIATIONS

Existing methods and processing for sterilising tissues are proving inadequate in many instances. Infections have been transmitted from the graft to the recipient and in the USA the Centre for Disease Control and other regulatory bodies have drawn attention to the need for a reliable end sterilisation method which does not damage the functionality of the final tissue. Safety of surgical allografts is, therefore, a major concern due to microbial and viral contamination of tissues which is now a problem even in the most sophisticated centres.The Presidents of the main Professional Association of Tissue Banks; American, European and Latin American met in Vienna to review the situation and concluded that the time was opportune to organise an international high level expert meeting, which would identify the best method of using radiation technology to assist in the production of safe tissue allograftsSterilisation of biological tissues with ionising radiations provides the information on this subject presented at an international meeting in Wales, supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency. New methods of protecting the tissues were presented which at the same time allow the use of sufficiently high doses of ionising radiations to inactivate invading organisms. A Code of Practice for the Radiation Sterilisation of Tissues was evaluated and the outcome and the full Code is included in this volume, as well as explorations of all of the methodologies used in the field.Sterilisation of biological tissues with ionising radiations is the only volume of its kind and as such is an invaluable source of information for those working in tissue banks, transplant surgeons and the safety regulators.

• High-quality papers highlighting the most recent developments in this important area
• Includes the full code of practice for the radiation sterilisation of tissues
• Edited by a highly respected team of experts

John F. Kennedy is Director of the Birmingham Carbohydrate and Protein Tehcnology Group, School of Chemistry, University of Birmingham. He is Director of Chembiotech laboratories and is also Professor of Applied Chemistry at The North East Wales Institute of higher Education (NEWI). He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Institute of Management, the Institute of Food Science and Technology and the Institute of Biology. He is also editor of the journal, Carbohydrate Polymers.

Professor Glyn O. Phillips was Professor of Chemistry at the University of Salford and appointed as Executive Principal of the North East Wales Institute (now Wrexham Glyndwr University) in 1976. He is a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales and was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Science by the University of Benin in 1990 and an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws by the University of Wales in 1999. He was awarded the A.G. Evans Medal by the University of Cardiff in 1991, the first Science and Technology Medal by the National Eisteddfod of Wales in 2004 and the Food Hydrocolloids Trust Medal in 2007. He has a broad range of scientific interests and has published more than 600 research papers in areas including radiation and free radical chemistry, radiation sterilisation, photochemistry and carbohydrate and polysaccharide chemistry. He was technical adviser to the International Atomic Energy Agency and editor of the journals, Food Hydrocolloids, Advances in Tissue Banking and International Journal of Cell and Tissue banking. He initiated the Gums and Stabilisers for the Food industry series of Conferences in 1981 and established the Phillips Hydrocolloids Research Centre at Wrexham Glyndwr University in 2003.

Peter A. Williams is Professor of Polymer and Colloid Chemistry and Director of the Centre for Water Soluble Polymers at Wrexham Glyndwr University. He was awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by the University of Salford in 1982 and Doctor of Science in 2009. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and a Chartered Chemist. He has over 35 years research experience in the chemical modification, physicochemical characterisation, rheological properties and interfacial behaviour of hydrocolloids. He has published over 230 research papers and edited 42 books. He is co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of the international journal Food Hydrocolloids which was launched in 1986. He has been involved in the organisation of more than 40 international conferences on behalf of the Food Hydrocolloids Trust, the Cellucon Trust the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Society of Chemical Industry. He is a past Chairman of the Society of Chemical Industry Surface and Colloids Group and past Treasurer of the Royal Society of Chemistry Colloid and Interface Science Group. He was awarded the SCI Distinguished Service award in 2007 and the Food Hydrocollloids Trust Medal in 2013.