Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2016. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Radiol. Apr 28, 2016; 8(4): 355-369
Published online Apr 28, 2016. doi: 10.4329/wjr.v8.i4.355
Radiation sterilization of tissue allografts: A review
Rita Singh, Durgeshwer Singh, Antaryami Singh
Rita Singh, Durgeshwer Singh, Antaryami Singh, Radiation Dosimetry and Processing Group, Defence Laboratory, Defence Research and Development Organization, Jodhpur 342011, India
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to this paper.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors do not have any conflicting interests.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Rita Singh, PhD, Radiation Dosimetry and Processing Group, Defence Laboratory, Defence Research and Development Organization, Jodhpur 342011, India. singhritadr@yahoo.com
Telephone: +91-291-2510922 Fax: +91-291-2511191
Received: September 28, 2015
Peer-review started: October 1, 2015
First decision: November 4, 2015
Revised: December 25, 2015
Accepted: January 16, 2016
Article in press: January 19, 2016
Published online: April 28, 2016
Processing time: 203 Days and 20.8 Hours
Abstract

Tissue substitutes are required in a number of clinical conditions for treatment of injured and diseased tissues. Tissues like bone, skin, amniotic membrane and soft tissues obtained from human donor can be used for repair or reconstruction of the injured part of the body. Allograft tissues from human donor provide an excellent alternative to autografts. However, major concern with the use of allografts is the risk of infectious disease transmission. Therefore, tissue allografts should be sterilized to make them safe for clinical use. Gamma radiation has several advantages and is the most suitable method for sterilization of biological tissues. This review summarizes the use of gamma irradiation technology as an effective method for sterilization of biological tissues and ensuring safety of tissue allografts.

Keywords: Sterilization; Gamma radiation; Allografts; Tissues; Microbial contamination

Core tip: Allograft tissues from human donor like bone, skin, amniotic membrane and other soft tissues provide an excellent alternative to autografts for clinical use. However, major concern with the use of allografts is the risk of infectious disease transmission. This review summarizes the use of gamma radiation as an effective method for sterilization of biological tissues and ensuring safety of tissue allografts.