ABSTRACT

Drug eluting stents comprise three components: stent backbone, stent/drug interface (coating), and the therapeutic agent. Currently, most commercially available drug eluting stents are coated with biostable polymer coatings containing the therapeutic agent. These synthetic polymers are fairly biocompatible, however, animal research has shown increased inflammation and neointimal response induced by these polymers. In this chapter, biosoluble oil-based stent coatings are evaluated in a porcine coronary model. These coatings are: (1) biosoluble biocompatible oils and (2) α-tocoferol. Mixtures of these components were either used in a single layer or used in multiple layers.