Promoting vascular healing using nanofibrous ticagrelor-eluting stents

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Cardiovascular Medicine
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Current limus-eluting stents for atherosclerotic coronary heart disease can impair arterial healing and endothelialization.
• Bare-metal stents show better healing but lack drug-eluting benefits.
• There is a need for advanced stent technologies to improve vascular healing and reduce complications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate ticagrelor-eluting stents using biodegradable nanofibers for sustained drug delivery.
• To assess the stent's ability to reduce neointimal formation and endothelial dysfunction.
• To compare the efficacy of ticagrelor-eluting stents with sirolimus-eluting stents.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of ticagrelor-eluting nanofibrous drug-eluting stents via electrospinning.
• In vitro and in vivo drug concentration analysis using high-performance liquid chromatography.
• Comparative evaluation of stent performance against sirolimus-eluting stents in preclinical models.

Main Results:

• Sustained in vitro drug release of ticagrelor for up to four weeks.
• Ticagrelor-eluting stents showed significantly reduced HES5-positive labeling compared to sirolimus-eluting stents (p<0.05).
• Improved endothelial function, enhanced re-endothelialization, reduced inflammation, and inhibited neointimal hyperplasia were observed with ticagrelor-eluting stents.

Conclusions:

• Ticagrelor-eluting stents demonstrate potential for improved vascular healing and endothelial recovery.
• These stents may offer a safer alternative for patients at high risk of bleeding.
• The technology effectively reduces smooth muscle proliferation and neointimal hyperplasia.