The study reported here is concerned with the radio-sterilization of Dacron vascular prostheses coated with crosslinked albumin. gamma-Radiations have no effect on the mechanical properties of the polyester fibres or on their crystallinity, whether irradiated in a dry state or immersed in saline. Special attention has been paid to the release of the albumin, or protein fragments from the reticulum using 125I-labelled albumin as a radiotracer. The albumin leakage depends upon the type of Dacron fabrics considered but the values derived from radioactivity measurements are always greater than those directly measured, which indicates a radio-induced break of the bond between iodine and albumin; this has nothing to do with the break of the association between albumin and Dacron. Moreover no cytotoxicity of the irradiated immersion medium has been observed using a test based on organotypic culture in liquid medium. Thus radio-sterilization of an albuminated polyester vascular prosthesis immersed in saline appears to be a suitable procedure.