Biomaterials: Balloon-based drug coating delivery to the artery wall is dictated by coating micro-morphology and angioplasty pressure gradients

Abraham R. Tzafriri, Benny Muraj, Fernando Garcia-Polite, Antonio G. Salazar-Martín, Peter Markham, Brett Zani, Anna Spognardi, Mazen Albaghdadi,  Steve Alston, Elazer R. Edelman. "Balloon-based drug coating delivery to the artery wall is dictated by coating micro-morphology and angioplasty pressure gradients."

Summary: Paclitaxel coated balloon catheters (PCB) were developed as a polymer-free non-implantable alternative to drug eluting stents, delivering similar drug payloads in a matter of minutes. While PCB have shown efficacy in treating peripheral arterial disease in certain patient groups, restenosis rates remain high and there is no class effect. To help further optimize these devices, we developed a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging technique and computational modeling approach that provide insights into the coating micromorphology dependence of in vivo drug transfer and retention.