Claims
- 1. A method of sterilizing a packaging material comprising
- (I) providing a packaging material comprising a resinous composition consisting essentially of a mixture of:
- (a) a vinyl halide resin;
- (b) an organotin mercaptoacid ester having the formula
- R.sub.x Sn(SR'COOR").sub.y
- wherein:
- R represents an alkyl group having 1-8 carbon atoms, R' represents an alkylene group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms; R" represents an alkyl, aryl, alkaryl or aralkyl group having 1 to 18 carbon atoms, and x and y represent numbers in the range of 1 to 3 whose total is 4; and
- (c) an epoxy compound; said organotin mercaptoacid ester and said epoxy compound being present in an amount effective to stabilize said composition against the deteriorative effects of ionizing radiation wherein said epoxy compound is present in an amount of from about 3 to about 5 parts by weight precent by weight of said organotion mercaptoacid ester; and
- (II) subjecting said material to ionizing radiation for a period of time sufficient to substantially sterilize said packaging.
- 2. The method of claim 1 wherein said epoxy compound comprises one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of epoxidized cottonseed oil, epoxidized linseed oil, epoxidized olive oil, epoxidized coconut oil, methyl epoxystearate, butyl epoxystearate, tridecyl epoxystearate, butyl epoxymyristate, butyl epoxypalmitate, oxtyl epoxytallate, and mixture thereof.
- 3. The method of claim 1 wherein said packaging is made from a resinous composition comprising a mixture of:
- (a) a vinyl halide resin;
- (b) an organotin compound having the formula (C.sub.8 H.sub.17).sub.2
- Sn(SCH.sub.2 COOR'").sub.2
- wherein:
- R'" is an alkyl group having 1 to 12 carbon atoms, and,
- (c) an ester of epoxidized fatty acids having 14 to 22 carbon atoms.
- 4. The method of claim 3 wherein said organotin compound is present in said vinyl halide resin at a level of about 2% to 4% by weight based on said vinyl halide resin and said epoxidized fatty acid ester is present at a level of about 3 to 5 parts by weight per part by weight of said organotin compound.
- 5. The method of claim 4 wherein said organotin compound comprises dioctyltin bis (isooctyl mercaptoacetate).
- 6. The method of claim 5 wherein said ionizing radiation is gamma radiation applied at a dosage of about 2 to 5 megarads.
Parent Case Info
This is a divisional of co-pending application Ser. No. 551,803 filed on Nov. 15, 1983 which was a continuation-in-part of co-pending application Ser. No. 448,678 filed Dec. 10, 1982, both now abandoned
US Referenced Citations (12)
Foreign Referenced Citations (9)
Number |
Date |
Country |
0205173 |
Dec 1983 |
DEX |
0042611 |
Oct 1972 |
JPX |
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Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
551803 |
Nov 1983 |
|
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
448678 |
Dec 1982 |
|