TEMPERATURE-VARIATION OF THE RELAXATION-TIME OF ALPHA-DISPERSION FOR GAMMA-IRRADIATED COLLAGEN

The effect of gamma irradiation, with doses from 10(2) to 10(3) kGy, o n the dielectric relaxation time of solid-state collagen was studied. Temperature measurements of the relaxation time were made over a range of frequency of the electric field from 10(1) to 10(5) Hz and at temp eratures from 298 to 480 K. The samples contained 0.06 g H2O/g dry col lagen. The dependencies obtained indicate that values for the relaxati on time decrease with increasing temperature for all samples of collag en. In addition, an increase in the irradiation dose resulted in a dec reased relaxation time for collagen at each temperature studied. These changes can be interpreted on the basis of proton conduction processe s,Such effects occurring in a heterogeneous medium such as a collagen- water system are caused by the localized jumping of free protons betwe en neighbouring sites. In the system of irradiated collagen studied, t he sites are formed by structural water molecules, the products of its radiolysis and also by elements of the damaged first-order structure of the collagen macromolecule.