miR-22 eluting cardiovascular stent based on a self-healable spongy coating inhibits in-stent restenosis

. We demonstrated that the sustained release of miR-22 dramatically enhanced the contractile phenotype of SMC without interfering with the proliferation of EC, thus leading to the EC dominating growth at an EC/SMC ratio of 5.4. More importantly, the PCEC@miR-22 coated stents showed reduced inflammation, low switching of SMC phenotype, and low secretion of extracellular matrix, which significantly inhibited IRS. This work provides a simple and robust coating platform for the delivery of microRNAs on cardiovascular stent, which may extend to other combination medical devices, and facilitate practical application of bioactive agents in clinics.