An Innovative Stereolithography 3D Tubular Method for Ultrathin Polymeric Stent Manufacture: The Effect of Process...

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Engineering
• Medical Device Manufacturing
• Polymer Science

Background:

• Bioresorbable stents (BRS) aim to resolve long-term complications associated with traditional drug-eluting stents (DES).
• Current BRS face manufacturing and material challenges, while ultrathin DES still present issues with metallic platforms and cellular response.
• Polymeric platforms for DES have not been extensively explored due to manufacturing limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce an innovative manufacturing method for polymeric stents using tubular stereolithography (SLA).
• To enable the production of both bioresorbable stents (BRS) and ultrathin polymeric drug-eluting stents (DES).
• To investigate the impact of manufacturing parameters on stent characteristics.

Main Methods:

• Tubular stereolithography (SLA) was employed for polymeric stent fabrication.
• Manufacturing process parameters (exposure, resin volume, number of layers) were modeled to predict stent thickness and strut width.
• Two laser setups were utilized for comparative analysis, and microscopy was used for evaluation.

Main Results:

• The tubular SLA process successfully produced stents with 70 μm strut width and thickness in 4 minutes using 0.2 mL of resin.
• Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) confirmed the manufacturing method's stability.
• Microscopy validated the effectiveness of the novel tubular SLA approach.

Conclusions:

• The developed tubular SLA technology presents a promising solution for manufacturing advanced polymeric stents.
• This method overcomes limitations of existing technologies for producing both BRS and ultrathin polymeric DES.
• The process demonstrates high efficiency, precision, and material stability for stent fabrication.