Biodegradable stents for coronary artery disease treatment: Recent advances and future perspectives

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Cardiovascular Engineering
• Medical Device Development

Background:

• Cardiovascular diseases remain a leading global cause of mortality.
• Metallic endovascular stents, crucial for cardiovascular interventions, face challenges like thrombosis and restenosis.
• Biodegradable stents (BDSs) are emerging as a next-generation solution to mitigate these long-term complications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the properties and working principles of various biodegradable stent materials.
• To discuss desirable features and necessary compromises in BDS design, balancing radial support and degradation.
• To outline future research strategies for successful BDS development and application.

Main Methods:

• Literature review summarizing properties of polymeric, iron-, magnesium-, and zinc-based BDSs.
• Analysis of BDS working principles and design considerations.
• Discussion of future research directions including structural optimization, material enhancement, and drug loading.

Main Results:

• Various BDS materials exhibit distinct mechanical properties, degradation rates, and biocompatibility profiles.
• Achieving an optimal balance between radial support and degradation is a key challenge in BDS design.
• Finite element analysis, material improvements, and drug-eluting capabilities are identified as crucial for future BDS development.

Conclusions:

• Biodegradable stents hold significant promise for improving cardiovascular disease treatment by overcoming limitations of metallic stents.
• Further research is essential to optimize BDS structure, mechanical performance, degradation kinetics, and biocompatibility.
• Addressing current limitations will pave the way for successful clinical translation and widespread application of BDSs.