title: In vitro and in vivo evaluation of the safety and stability of the TAXUS Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent.
abstract: Functional aspects of the styrene-b-isobutylene-b-styrene triblock copolymer (SIBS) which is incorporated into a drug-eluting stent (DES) coating are described. The SIBS copolymer is employed on the TAXUS Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent as a carrier for paclitaxel (PTx). Optical and scanning electron microscopic analysis of stents explanted from rabbit and porcine models after 2 years and 6 months, respectively, showed that the SIBS coating maintained physical integrity. Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) of the copolymer extracted from the coating verified that no polymer degradation occurred over the same period of time. The coating on TAXUS Stents was shown to maintain physical integrity after 400 million cycles of pulsatile or mechanical (tensile) fatigue, simulating 10 years real time use. Inspection of the samples compared to untested controls showed no change in the coating under these cyclic simulated conditions. Films prepared with the same formulation found on TAXUS Stents maintained mechanical strength and resistance throughout the time of testing. Intentional defects introduced into the stent coating were shown to have only a minimal impact on PTx release. These data support the suitability of the SIBS copolymer as a drug carrier for DES applications.
authors.affiliation: Boston Scientific Corporation, One Boston Scientific Place, Natick, MA 01760, USA. bodenm@bsci.com
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boden
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Richard
authors.forename: Marlene C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Schwarz
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kangas
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Huibregtse
authors.forename: James J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Barry
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis / Q000009:adverse effects*; D023903:Coronary Restenosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D004355:Drug Stability; D054855:Drug-Eluting Stents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D004869:Equipment Safety; D007083:Iliac Artery / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D017239:Paclitaxel / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D011817:Rabbits; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D017239:Paclitaxel