Abstract: This invention relates to a method of manufacturing a coating agent for a drug releasing stent and to a coating agent for a drug releasing stent manufactured thereby. This method includes (1) dissolving polyurethane in tetrahydrofuran, (2) dissolving pluronic F-127 in tetrahydrofuran, (3) dissolving a gemcitabine compound in ethanol, (4) mixing these three solutions obtained in (1) to (3) thus preparing a solution mixture, (5) applying the solution mixture obtained in (4) on a stent coated with a Teflon film, (6) drying the stent of (5) for a predetermined period of time and then immersing the stent in a polyurethane solution in tetrahydrofuran, and (7) removing the stent immersed in (6) from the polyurethane solution and then drying the stent, so that the rate of release of an anti-cancer drug applied on the stent can be continuously and maximally improved thereby maximizing anti-cancer efficacy.

Abstract: The invention discloses a method of coating a medical device. The method includes applying a coating composition on the medical device to form a layer on the medical device. The coating composition includes one or more of one or more biological agents and heparin dissolved in a mixture of a first solvent and a second solvent. The first solvent and the second solvent have different evaporation temperatures. Subsequently, at least a part of one of the first solvent and the second solvent present in the coating composition is evaporated to create a plurality of pores in the layer. Thereafter, one or more drugs are deposited in the plurality of pores. When the medical device is positioned and expanded at a target site, the one or more drugs are released from the plurality of pores.

Abstract: The present invention provides polymeric substrates comprising a biocompatible coating and methods of preparation thereof. In particular, the coating may be a ceramic material, especially a calcium phosphate material, which may be functionally graded. The invention provides the ability to apply high quality coatings to polymeric substrates without damaging the substrate (e.g., melting the polymeric material). The functionally graded coating can provide crystalline calcium phosphate near the coating interface with the substrate and provide amorphous calcium phosphate at the outer surface of the coating.

Abstract: Medical devices, and in particular implantable medical devices such as stents and stent delivery systems including catheters, may be coated to minimize or substantially eliminate a biological organism's reaction to the introduction of the medical device to the organism or to treat a particular condition. A dip coating process is utilized to minimize waste and to customize coating thickness and drug loading directly at the clinical site just prior to therapeutic use on a patient. An aqueous latex polymeric emulsion is utilized to coat any medical device to a desired thickness by allowing for successive dipping and drying cycles at the clinical site. In addition, aqueous latex polymeric emulsions pose less of a chance of the bridging phenomenon associated with organic solvent based polymers.

Abstract: A stent is coated by ejecting droplets of a coating substance from a reservoir containing a coating substance. A reservoir housing can have a plurality of reservoir compartments. A transducer is used to eject the coating substance from the reservoir. Energy from the transducer is focused at a meniscus or an interface between the coating substance and another coating substance in the reservoir.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for applying a coating composition to a stent. A mandrel for supporting the stent has one or more drive pins and other supporting structure that loosely supports the stent, in an unstable position. The support permits freedom of movement of the stent relative to the mandrel to cause the stent to frequently re-position itself over the mandrel during a spraying process. When a coating composition is applied, the stent randomly or periodically moves about relative to the mandrel due to intermittent contact between the stent and the rotating mandrel and fluidic forces applied through the sprayed coating composition.

Abstract: The invention provides a medical implant device or component thereof comprising a metal substrate, an intermediate coating, and an outer coating of aluminum oxide, as well as a method of making such a medical implant device or component thereof.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing an endoluminal implantable surface, stent, or graft includes the steps of providing an endoluminal implantable surface, stent, or graft having an inner wall surface, an outer wall surface, and a wall thickness and forming a pattern design into the endoluminal implantable surface, stent, or graft. At least one groove is created in the inner surface of the intravascular stent by applying a laser machining method to the inner surface.

Abstract: Methods for coating medical devices for implantation within a body vessel are provided comprising providing a cylindrical container, placing a medical device inside the cylindrical container, and applying a polymer in liquid form inside the container.

Abstract: Various embodiments of methods and devices for coating stents are described herein.

Abstract: A coating system for coating an Insertable Medical Device (IMD) with one or more drugs is disclosed. The coating system includes a spray nozzle unit for coating the IMD with one or more drugs. The IMD includes a guiding member, a coating member and a supporting member. The IMD is passed through a protection tube such that the guiding member is located within the protection tube and an end of the supporting member is connected to a holder to expose the coating member of the IMD to the spray nozzle unit. The protection tube is received by a mandrel fixture which includes a circular disc for holding and rotating the protection tube and the IMD within the protection tube. When the protection tube along with the IMD is rotated, the spray nozzle unit coats the coating member of the IMD with the one or more drugs.

Abstract: Methods for modulating the release rate of a drug coated stent are disclosed.

Abstract: A coating having a smooth orange peel morphology is formed on an adluminal surface of a stent, concurrently with the formation of a coating having a rough rice grain morphology on an abluminal surface of the stent. During the formation of the two coatings, a mandrel is placed adjacent to the adluminal surface of the stent but does not generally contact the adluminal surface.

Abstract: An apparatus for coating medical devices at the point of care with a polymer and/or therapeutic agent comprising an environmentally controlled device coating chamber in which the device may be delivered by the manufacturer as the device packaging, or the device may be placed into the chamber at the point of care. The environmentally controlled chamber can provide a sterile enclosure in which the polymer and/or a therapeutic agent can be applied to an uncoated or previously coated device and converted to another form (such as a liquid to a film or gel) if desired, under controlled and reproducible conditions. The environmentally controlled chamber can accommodate and provide for coating the device by immersion, spray and other methods of covering the device surface with a liquid or powder. The chamber can provide for energy sources, both internally, such as heat produced by film heaters, and externally, such as UV light or microwave passing through the enclosure.

Abstract: A multi-layer drug coated medical device such as for example an expandable vascular drug eluting stent is formed by vacuum pulse spray techniques wherein each layer is irradiated to improve adhesion and/or drug elution properties prior to formation of subsequent layers. Layers may be homogeneous or of diverse drugs. Layers may incorporate a non-polymer elution-retarding material. Layers may alternate with one or more layers of non-polymer elution-retarding materials. Polymer binders and/or matrices are not used in the formation of the coatings, yet the pure drug coatings have good mechanical and elution rate properties. Systems, methods and medical device articles are disclosed.

Abstract: A system, nozzle assembly, and method for coating a stent with a solvent and polymer are provided. The polymer can include a therapeutic substance or a drug. The polymer and solvent can be discharged from separate tubes disposed within another tube carrying moving air. The polymer and the solvent mix together when they are discharged and are atomized by the air. The ends of the tubes can be concentric with each other. The ends of the tubes can also be positioned relative to each other to prevent accumulation of polymer at the ends of the tubes.

Abstract: A nozzle for use in a coating apparatus for the application of a coating substance to a stent is provided. Method for coating a stent can include discharging a coating composition out from a needle of a nozzle assembly, and atomizing the coating composition as the coating composition is discharged. The needle can be positioned in a chamber of the nozzle assembly, and gas can be introduced into the chamber for atomizing the coating composition.

Abstract: A drug delivery device for delivering therapeutic agents and a method of making such a device is disclosed. The device includes an inflatable balloon. A microporous coating covers a portion of the outer surface of the wall of the balloon. The thickness of the coating and the size of the micropores can permit desirable delivery of a substance from the micropores of the coating and into the tissue of a patient's lumen.

Abstract: A process for reducing solvent contents in drug-containing polymeric compositions may be utilized to reduce the solvent content in implantable medical device wherein the compositions are in reservoirs. Specifically, the solvent contents in the drug-containing polymeric compositions are first reduced by one or more conventional drying methods, to a range from about 0.5 weight percent to about 10 weight percent of the total weight of the polymeric composition. Subsequently, the drug-containing polymeric compositions are further treated by a low temperature drying method for further reduction of the solvent content.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing a drug carrying stent includes applying at least a first therapeutic agent to at least an outer portion of a stent framework and applying a first magnesium coating on at least a first portion of the applied first therapeutic agent.

Abstract: Implants and methods of making same are provided for treatment or prophylaxis of coronary or peripheral vascular constrictions or vascular occlusions, and particularly, stenoses or restenoses, that comprise FK506 in chemically covalently bound, non-covalently bound or physically immobilized form.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a novel poly (diol citrates)-based coating for implantable devices. More specifically, the specification describes methods and compositions for making and using implantable devices coated with citric acid copolymers or citric acid copolymers impregnated with therapeutic compositions and/or cells.

Abstract: Water-soluble polymeric adhesive compositions and their use as delivery vehicles for carrying therapeutic agents on implantable devices, such as vascular grafts, are disclosed. Use of drug-coated vascular grafts is demonstrated for delivery of the therapeutic agents in vivo, thereby inhibiting restenosis or neointimal hyperplasia of the vascular graft and inhibiting infection at the vascular graft site. Methods of forming the adhesive and making the coated vascular grafts are also disclosed.

Abstract: A stent including hollow struts is formed on a cylindrical substrate. The struts of the stent are formed by electroforming metal layers of the strut in openings formed in a patterned photoresist material. A first metal layer forming the inner strut material is formed in openings in a first photoresist material. A sacrificial material to form the cavity to make the struts hollow is formed in openings in a second photoresist material. A second metal layer forming the side walls and outer wall of the struts is formed in openings in a third photoresist material and around the sacrificial material. The photoresist materials are removed. The substrate and cavity sacrificial material are removed, leaving hollow struts formed into a stent pattern. The hollow struts may be filled with a therapeutic substance for elution. Openings through the struts to the cavity may be formed during the forming process.

Abstract: A coating system and method are described. In some embodiments, a system may include a composition. The composition may include one or more bridged polycyclic compounds. At least one of the bridged polycyclic compounds may include at least two cyclic groups, and at least two of the cyclic groups may include quaternary ammonium moieties. In some embodiments, a method may include applying a coating to a surface of a medical device. The coating may be antimicrobial. A coating may include antimicrobial bridged polycyclic compounds. In some embodiments, bridged polycyclic compounds may include quaternary ammonium compounds. In some embodiments, bridged polycyclic compounds may include guanidinium moieties. Bridged polycyclic compounds based coating systems may impart self-cleaning properties to a surface.

Abstract: Methods are disclosed for controlling the morphology and the release-rate of active agent from a coating layer for medical devices comprising a polymer matrix and one or more active agents. The methods comprise exposing a wet or dry coating to a freeze-thaw cycle. The coating layer can be used for controlled delivery of an active agent or a combination of active agents.

Abstract: A covalently crosslinked hydrogel comprises a) three or more divalent poly(alkylene oxide) chains P? covalently linked at respective first end units to a branched first core group C?, b) three or more divalent poly(alkylene oxide) chains P? covalently linked at respective first end units to a branched second core group C?, the chains P? comprising respective second end units which are covalently linked to between 0% and 100% of respective second end units of chains P? by divalent linking groups L?, and c) at least one pendant cationic block copolymer chain A?-B?. A?-B? comprises i) a divalent block A? comprising a poly(alkylene oxide) backbone chain having an end unit covalently linked to a second end unit of one of the chains P? by a divalent linking group L?, and ii) a monovalent block B? comprising a first repeat unit, the first repeat unit comprising a backbone carbonate group and a cationic side chain group.

Abstract: A stent mandrel fixture for supporting a stent during the application of a coating substance is provided.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a medical device having a polymerized base coat layer for the immobilization of an anti-thrombogenic material, such as heparin, thereon. The binding coat layer is comprised of various chemically functional groups which are stable and allow for the immobilization of the anti-thrombogenic material thereto. Methods for immobilizing the anti-thrombogenic material within the base coat layer posited on a surface of the medical device are also provided.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to medical implants that are configured to controllably release therapeutic agent to a target site of a patient and methods of making these implants. Embodiments of the present invention may include a method comprising the steps of providing a tube having a wall with inner and outer surfaces and defining a passageway, forming an opening through the wall of the tube, applying a porous coating layer to at least one of the inner and outer surfaces of the tube, and loading a therapeutic agent solution into the passageway so that therapeutic agent passes through the opening and into the porous coating layer. The method may also include removing portions of the tube to form the implantable medical device, which may be a stent.

Abstract: A mechanism for preventing or inhibiting bubbles of dissolved gasses from outgassing due to phase change phenomenon of the pressure differential inside a liquid-filled incompressible line can be provided. This mechanism may be useful in a variety of applications, such as coating of stents and scaffolds.

Abstract: Methods and devices for coating a medical device, such as a stent, including the steps of coating the medical device with a photoresist polymeric coating, irradiating a portion of the medical device, optionally applying a post-exposure bake step, and removing all or a portion of the coating from the irradiated portion of the medical device, if a positive photoresist coating material is used, or from a portion of the medical device not exposed to the radiation, if a negative photoresist coating material is used. The photoresist polymeric coating may optionally include a drug.

Abstract: The present invention relates to methods of modifying the chemical structure of a surface by covalently attaching molecules containing desired functional groups on the surface using plasma energy. In these methods, chemical compounds containing the desired functional groups and having a vapor pressure lower than 0.001 bar are exposed in the plasma chamber together with the substrate. Surface area of the chemical compound is optimized to generate adequate evaporation rate. The modification of the substrate surface is achieved in a plasma state generated from the vapor of the chemical compounds; while the evaporation of the chemical compounds is accelerated by the plasma energy. Methods for producing non-fouling surface by covalently attaching ethylene glycol oligomers on the surface are disclosed.

Abstract: A method of loading a composition into a structural element of a stent, where the structural element is defined by a lumen and at least one opening to access the lumen. The composition that is injected may include a therapeutic agent, and it includes a solvent and optionally an excipient. The solvent has a low boiling point, such as less than a temperature of 20° C., and the solution is injected at a condition of temperature and pressure such that the solution is a liquid or a supercritical fluid state.

Abstract: Some embodiments of the present invention relate to coated biological material for the manufacture of heart valve prostheses, characterized in that the surface of the biological material is covered entirely or partially with a coating which contains or is composed of a biocompatible anorganic material, and to a process for manufacturing such a coated biological material.

Abstract: Implantable medical devices adapted to erodibly release delivery media for local and regional treatment are disclosed.

Abstract: A novel class of polymers obtainable by copolymerising a monomer mixture comprising (i) hydrophilic monomer of general formula (I) Y—B—X; (ii) styrene or a substituted styrene, a monomer or mixture of monomers which when polymerized form a polymer with a Tg lower than the Tg of a homopolymer of monomer (I) and lower than the Tg of a homopolymer of monomer (ii); and a monomer having a crosslinkable group is described. The invention also relates to a method for producing such polymers, implants coated with the polymers and methods for forming the same.

Abstract: The present invention provides a medical device for placement into a lumen such as a stent and a catheter whose surface is uniformly and sufficiently coated with a drug, and a process thereof with easy way and with low cost. The medical device is coated with mixed particles of drug particles whose surface is modified with positive-charge and biocompatible nanoparticles. In the invention, a drug can be taken into a cell through the dissolution of the drug particle together with the biocompatible nanoparticle after a DES is placed in a biological body.

Abstract: Scaffold-supported metal or pseudometallic film covers suitable for use as medical devices are disclosed together with methods of fabricating the devices. Methods for making the medical devices consist of either providing or forming a scaffold, then depositing a metallic or pseudometallic film cover onto the scaffold in such a manner as to form an integral, substantially monolithic junction between the deposited cover material and the scaffold.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for preparing a hollow microneedle comprising preparing a solid microneedle by drawing lithography; plating the surface with a metal; removing the solid microneedle; and fabricating the hollow microneedle. The present invention ensures efficient preparation of a hollow microneedle with desired hardness, length, and diameter, and which may be effectively used for extracting internal analytical materials from the body and for drug injection.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for coating abluminal surface of a stent is described. A method for coating a stent can include stent mounting, stent movement, and droplet excitation. A method can include applying a coating to a stent, the applying including generating waves in a coating solution to eject droplets of the coating solution from a surface of the coating solution toward the stent, the generating performed by transducers submerged in the coating solution.

Abstract: The present invention relates to implantable devices, which are coated or coatable with liposomes. The present invention further relates to liposomes encapsulating nucleic acids termed lipoplexes, to methods for the manufacture and coating of such implantable devices, and to the use of such implantable devices to improve treatment of patients with coronary artery disease or other vascular diseases and cancers.

Abstract: Methods for coating medical devices for implantation within a body vessel are provided comprising providing a cylindrical container, placing a medical device inside the cylindrical container, and applying a polymer in liquid form inside the container.

Abstract: An implantable member for use in the body is provided herein. This implantable member includes a porous biocompatible substrate; the substrate having at least one surface sealed fluid-tight with self-aggregating protein particles of substantially the same diameter range. The self-aggregated protein particles are formed from a deposited aqueous slurry of the protein particles.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method of applying a drug-polymer coating on a stent. A stent framework is dipped into a first polymeric solution including a first polymer, a first therapeutic agent, and a first solvent. The polymeric solution is dried and the first polymer is cured to form a thin drug-polymer layer on the stent framework. The steps of dipping the stent framework into the first polymeric solution, drying the first polymeric solution, and curing the first polymer are repeated until a target drug-polymer coating thickness is disposed on the stent framework. A drug-polymer coated stent including a stent framework and a laminated drug-polymer coated stent, a system for treating a vascular condition, and a method of treating a vascular condition are also disclosed.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method of manufacturing a stent having a coating, comprising providing a tubular stent having a lumenal side and an ablumenal side; applying a coating composition to the stents such that the coating composition contacts the lumenal and ablumenal sides of the stent; and modifying the diameter of the stent from a first diameter to a second diameter during the process of applying the coating composition.

Abstract: A method is provided for altering a drug release profile of a coating of a medical device by increasing a surface area of the coating of the medical device. The method may include indenting the coating using a crimping apparatus, a rolling apparatus, or a clamping device. The method may alternatively or additionally include changing a chemical composition of at least one coating component to increase a roughness of a texture of the coating, and/or drying or partially drying the coating before the coating impacts the medical device.

Abstract: A diamond-like carbon film (DLC film) is formed on the surface of a base material made of an inorganic material, such as ceramics, or the like, or an organic material, such as resin, or the like. The surface of the resultant DLC film is treated with plasma, or the like, so as to be activated. Various monomers having biocompatibility, etc., are graft-polymerized to the activated surface of the DLC film, whereby a polymer layer is formed from the monomers grafted to the surface of the DLC film. Thus, the base material coated with the DLC film modified with a polymer which does not readily separate can be realized.

Abstract: The present invention relates to medical devices, and in particular, medical devices that have an inorganic coating, e.g., a coating capable of releasing inorganic nanoparticles into a passageway to be treated with the medical device.

Abstract: A method includes: providing a tubular substrate in a chamber, the tubular substrate having a lumen, an a luminal surface and a luminal surface; providing a target in the lumen; depositing a first coating onto the abluminal surface and a second coating onto the luminal surface while keeping the tubular substrate in the chamber. An endoprosthesis, such as a stent, including a first coating on at least one portion of its abluminal surface and a second coating on at least one portion of its luminal surface is also disclosed.