Gamma irradiation is mainly used in the field of sterilization, and the medical industry is its important downstream

Gamma ray irradiation uses gamma rays produced by the radioactive isotope cobalt-60 to irradiate materials to change the physical properties and chemical components of the materials, so as to change and improve the properties of the materials, or affect the physiological activity of microorganisms. Achieve killing effect. Gamma-ray irradiation can be used in fields such as material modification and sterilization. Sterilization is its main application market and can be widely used in the disinfection and sterilization of medical devices, medicines, food, packaging and other products.

Compared with traditional chemical sterilization, gamma ray irradiation has the advantages of strong penetration, wide sterilization spectrum, thorough sterilization, no residue, low energy consumption, high stability, etc., and has a wide range of applications. When used in the food field, gamma ray irradiation has an excellent sterilization effect, but if the intensity of irradiation is not properly controlled, it will affect the food through packaging. Moreover, due to the use of radioactive element cobalt-60, although the food will not become radioactive after irradiation, consumers still have concerns about the safety of gamma ray irradiation.

Applied in the medical field, γ-ray irradiation can sterilize medical equipment, medical consumables, implanted devices, medical containers, drugs, etc. In terms of medical equipment, medical consumables, implanted devices, etc., due to the strong penetrability of gamma ray radiation, products can be sterilized without unpacking, simplifying the sterilization process, increasing the sterilization speed, and avoiding the need for secondary Secondary pollution; in terms of medicines, controlling the intensity of gamma ray irradiation can kill microorganisms in medicines while maintaining their properties. Therefore, the medical field is an important downstream market for gamma irradiation.

According to the “China’s Gamma-ray Irradiation Market Feasibility Research Report 2022-2026” released by the Industrial Research Center, in the global medical In the product sterilization market, radiation sterilization accounts for 48%; in my country’s medical product sterilization market, chemical sterilization is still the mainstream technology, and radiation sterilization accounts for only 20%. The Chinese government’s continuous improvement of health standards for medical products will promote the development of gamma ray irradiation in the medical industry. From this point of view, in the medical field, my country’s gamma ray irradiation industry has broad development prospects.

Cobalt-60 is a raw material that produces gamma rays. At present, my country has achieved independent production of cobalt-60. In terms of cobalt-60 supply, CNNC Tongxing is the only cobalt-60 radioactive source manufacturer in China. Due to limited supply, part of my country’s cobalt-60 demand still relies on imports, mainly from foreign companies such as Canadian Nordian. Due to the small number of manufacturing companies and weak downstream bargaining power for cobalt-60, rising cobalt-60 prices will increase the cost of the gamma-ray irradiation industry.

Industry analysts People said that the leading companies in my country’s gamma ray irradiation industry are mainly China Uniradiation, CICC Irradiation, etc. China Tongxing is a subsidiary of CNNC and the largest shareholder of CNNC Tongxing. CNNC Tongxing is one of the three largest cobalt-60 suppliers in the world. Therefore, China Tongxing has a clear competitive advantage in gamma-ray irradiation technology. CICC Irradiation is a holding subsidiary of China National Gold Group. It started early in the field of gamma irradiation technology and currently has a wide business coverage across the country. It is also actively developing the electron beam irradiation technology market and has great potential for future development.