In vitro study of poly(ethylene carbonate) as a drug-elutingstent coating

An in vitro feasibility study of the use of poly(ethylene carbonate) (PEC) as a biodegradable coating material for drug-eluting stents is reported, and the performance of PEC is compared with that of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of PEC and PLGA discs after treatment with an alkaline KO₂ solution as a superoxide source showed that the PEC maintained its integrity whereas holes and small particles appeared during the treatment of PLGA. Sirolimus and paclitaxel were loaded into PEC and PLGA in order to study drug release performance. Attenuated total reflectance–infrared (ATR–FTIR) spectroscopy of sirolimus, PEC and the sirolimus-loaded PEC coating showed that no chemical reaction occurred between sirolimus and PEC. The results of atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed that the mean roughness (Ra) values of the bare metal stent (BMS) and the drug-eluting stent (DES) were 2.3 nm and 1.0 nm, respectively. After balloon expansion experiments, no delamination or destruction of the PEC coating was observed. The drug release profile of sirolimus was different from that of paclitaxel when PEC was employed as the drug carrier, and the release curves of sirolimus were different when PEC and PLGA were used as drug carriers. All the experimental results demonstrated that PEC was one of the best potential stent-coating materials.