The radiation chemistry of polymers is one of the most important fields in the sciences concerningradiation induced chemical and physical changes in materials. Polymers are the most often irradiated materials, those most often modified and the main component of radiation sterilized medical products. The changes in their structure may be either beneficial or undesirable. This is the reason why the R&D concerning these materials is broad, and most developments concerning radiation processing are foreseen in this area. Different aspects of basic research and R&D were presented during the meeting on ‘Advances in Radiation Chemistry of Polymers’ held at the Notre Dame Radiation Laboratory, University of Notre Dame, Indiana, USA, and this publication contains the proceedings of this meeting. The leading experts in the field participated at the meeting, and the present status of the subject and the trends foreseen in it were discussed. Therefore this publication is the most up to date available on the subject.
