Nanostructured Ceramic Coatings for Drug Delivery

Drug eluting stents (DES) have been successfully implemented in clinical practice in the treatment against coronary artery disease. Compared to the implantation of bare metal stents, restenosis rates decreased significantly after stenting of DES into coronary arteries [1, 2, 3]. This project aims at creating a novel, structured, ceramic drug delivering coating for stent implants. In the following, the preparation of a titanium dioxide (TiO2) film With macroporous drug reservoirs in a mesoporous bulk ceramic is shown. The film is predominantly composed of anatase. The broad pore size distribution has a median pore width below 100 nm. The open porosity of the mesoporous bulk, which is greater than 50%, and the embedded macropores were successfully loaded with Paclitaxel (PTX). The quantity of drug loaded reaches values up to 1.2 mu g/mm(2). The continuous release of the agent into water extends over I month. The biocompatibility of the non PTX-loaded, nanostructured coating tested with primary bovine endothelial cells shows good results regarding the number of living cells, the cell vitality and morphology.