Key result
Polymer coatings on drug-eluting stents are largely indispensable for controlling drug release kinetics and optimizing efficacy compared to polymer-free platforms.
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Polymer coatings remain essential for the efficacy of drug-eluting stents by controlling drug release kinetics.
Drug-eluting stents (DES) minimise the risk of in-stent restenosis by means of controlled, local delivery of antiproliferative drugs from a thin layer of coating applied to a rigid stent backbone. In this respect, polymer coatings have proven largely indispensable for the control of drug release kinetics and the optimisation of DES efficacy. Investigation of polymer-free stent platforms has typically yielded comparatively lower levels of neointimal suppression by virtue of rapid drug dissociation in the initial hours and days after stent implantation 1 . Indeed, all of the currently available FDA-approved DES devices control drug release by use of durable polymer coatings 2,3
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Basalus et al. (2013) conducted a review in In-stent restenosis. Polymer coatings on drug-eluting stents vs. Polymer-free stent platforms was evaluated. Polymer coatings on drug-eluting stents are largely indispensable for controlling drug release kinetics and optimizing efficacy compared to polymer-free platforms.
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