In vivo biocompatibility of a plasma-activated, coronary stent coating.
Bare metal and drug-eluting coronary stents suffer an inherent lack of vascular cell and blood compatibility resulting in adverse patient responses. We have developed a plasma-activated coating (PAC) for metallic coronary stents that is durable, withstands crimping and expansion, has low thrombogenicity and can covalently bind proteins, linker-free. This has been shown to enhance endothelial cell interactions in vitro and has the potential to promote biointegration of stents. Using the rabbit denuded iliac artery model, we show for the first time that PAC is a feasible coating for coronary stents in vivo. The coating integrity of PAC was maintained following implantation and expansion. The rate of endothelialization, strut coverage, neointimal response and the initial immune response were equivalent to bare metal stents. Furthermore, the initial thrombogenicity caused by the PAC stents showed a reduced trend compared to bare metal stents. This work demonstrates a robust, durable, non-cytotoxic plasma-based coating technology that has the ability to covalently immobilize bioactive molecules for surface modification of coronary stents. Improvements in the clinical performance of implantable cardiovascular devices could be achieved by the immobilization of proteins or peptides that trigger desirable cellular responses.
School of Molecular Bioscience, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
Anna
A
Waterhouse
Steven G
SG
Wise
Yongbai
Y
Yin
Buchu
B
Wu
Barbara
B
James
Hala
H
Zreiqat
David R
DR
McKenzie
Shisan
S
Bao
Anthony S
AS
Weiss
Martin K C
MK
Ng
Marcela M M
MM
Bilek
D000818:Animals; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible / Q000378:metabolism*; D054855:Drug-Eluting Stents; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology; D007083:Iliac Artery / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008422:Materials Testing; D058426:Neointima / Q000473:pathology; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D011817:Rabbits; D015607:Stents
D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible