Ultrathin Polymeric Platform for Drug-Eluting Stent: A proof of concept

Abstract

Recent innovations in Drug-Eluting Stents (DES) technology have led to the development of new stents with further reduction in strut width, the ultrathin DES, with struts thinner than 70 µm. Ultrathin DES may further improve the efficacy and safety profile of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) by reducing the risk of target-lesion and target-vessel failures compared to the current-generation DES. However, the ultrathin DES metallic platform still presents some associated problems, such as biofilm formation, infection, and migration, all related to the cellular response.

The present work aims to produce an ultrathin permanent polymeric platform for a new generation of polymeric drug-eluting stents (PDES). In this work, the cellular response was compared with the traditional stainless steel (SS316L) and polycaprolactone (PCL) to determine whether these polymers could address this challenge. An innovative method of tubular 3D micro stereolithography tubular (ST3DT) was used. Different PDES platforms were fabricated with different polymeric materials (based on polyurethane and urethane dimethacrylate). Subsequently, HFL1 fibroblasts were seeded on the PDES, PCL and SS316L for 3 days. The findings from the assays of cell biocompatibility and proliferation (75%PCL), coupled with the successful fabrication of stent struts below 70 µm using the Surgical Guide resin and the ST3DT method, suggest that resin is a promising candidate for a PDES.