A simple methodology for the manufacture and calibration of polyacrylamide gel (PAG) for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) radiation dosimetry is presented to enable individuals to undertake such work in a routine clinical environment. Samples of PAG were irradiated using a linear accelerator and imaged using a 0.5 T (22 MHz) Philips Gyroscan MRI scanner. The mean spin-lattice relaxation rate was measured using a 'turbo-mixed' sequence, consisting of a series of 90 degrees pulses, each followed by acquisition of a train of spin echoes. The mean sensitivity for five different batches of PAG in the range up to 10 Gy was calculated to be 0.0285 s-1 Gy-1 for the mean spin-lattice relaxation rate with a percentage standard deviation of 1.25%. The overall reproducibility between batches was calculated to be 2.69%. This methodology, which introduces the novel use of pre-filled nitrogen vials for calibration, has been used to develop techniques for filling anatomically shaped anthropomorphic phantoms.

SynopsisThe rate at which an additive is lost from the surface of its solution in a polymer is considered to depend upon three factors-the solubility of the additive, the rate at which it volatilizes from the polymer surface, and its diffusion coefficient within the bulk of the polymer. By adapting the mathematics of heat flow in a solid, the loss of additive from a polymer is mathematically modeled in terms of these three variables for bulk polymer and for film and fiber samples. Two cases are considered-loss of additive by volatilization or dissolution from the polymer surface and loss by precipitation on the surface from a supersaturated solution of the additive. The results are applied to a discussion of the relative importance of the three parameters under various conditions occurring or expected in practical application of additives as oxidation stabilizers for polyethylene and polypropylene.

SynopsisThe solubilities of six phenolic antioxidants in poiypropylene and polyethylene were measured between 5OoC and 100OC. Measurements were also made of their solubilities in a range of liquid alkanes. The measured solubilities at 7OoC were consistent with regular solution theory and could be used to predict values to within one half of an order of magnitude. No simple correlation wm found when regular solution theory was applied to predict the dependence of solubility on either temperature or the molar volume of the solvent. Hence, contrary to previous reports, the relative solubilities of antioxidants, measured at high temperatures or in alkane solvents, cannot be used to estimate their relative solubilities in polymers at room temperature.

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