[en] Polyvinyl-pyrrolidone has been used as base material for wound dressing. Irradiation of the hydrogel compound was performed for initiation of crosslinking reaction to produce a irreversible gel and also for the final product. For wound dressing purpose, it is important to know the mechanical behaviour and the absorption of exudate of these polymeric systems. Membranes were prepared with 4 % PVP, 3 % PEO and 0,8 % agar nd irradiated with 10 to 40 kGy. The elongation at break showed a market decrease as a function of dose, while the tensile strength showed a opposite behaviour. Swollen experiments were also conducted to evaluate the capacity of exudate absorption from the wound. A irradiation dose of 10 kGy showed about 4 times more absorption than 40 kGy irradiation dose. Thus, this polymer system can be fitted to cope with the various mechanical and absorption requirements of a wound dressing. (author). 3 refs., 1 fig., 2 tabs