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Design of a Biocompatible Drug-Eluting Tracheal Stent in Mice with Laryngotracheal Stenosis
Published on: January 21, 2020
Surface crystallization of rapamycin on stents using a temperature induced process
Yair Levy1, Wahid Khan, Shady Farah
1School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, 91120.
Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids
|April 3, 2012
Summary
This study introduces a novel temperature-induced crystallization method for creating carrier-free drug-eluting stents (DES). This process allows for controlled, long-term rapamycin release from stent scaffolds over several weeks.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Engineering
- Drug Delivery Systems
- Cardiovascular Devices
Background:
- Metallic drug-eluting stents (DES) commonly use drug-polymer coatings, which can present challenges.
- Carrier-free DES are sought after for sustained drug release and to avoid polymer-related issues.
- Achieving long-term, controlled drug release from DES remains a key challenge in cardiovascular device development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel carrier-free coating method for drug-eluting stents.
- To investigate a temperature-induced (TI) crystallization process for applying rapamycin to stents.
- To achieve controllable and homogeneous crystalline rapamycin coatings for sustained drug release.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a temperature-induced (TI) crystallization process.
- Applied rapamycin from a supersaturated solution to coat metallic stent scaffolds.
- Fabricated crystalline coatings with defined morphology and target drug load.
Main Results:
- Successfully developed a controllable and homogeneous crystalline rapamycin coating on stent scaffolds.
- Demonstrated the ability to achieve a defined drug load and morphology of rapamycin crystals.
- The fabricated coatings enabled drug release over several weeks.
Conclusions:
- The novel TI crystallization process offers a promising approach for carrier-free DES fabrication.
- This method allows for precise control over drug loading and coating homogeneity.
- Carrier-free DES produced via this technique can achieve sustained drug release for therapeutic benefit.

