Rapid In Situ Coating of Covered Stents with Highly Tough, Biocompatible Membrane for Emergency Coronary Artery Perforation

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new method to quickly coat stents with a tough, biocompatible membrane for emergency treatment of coronary artery perforation.

Contribution

A novel rapid in situ coating technology for covered stents using PVDF/DBP membrane is developed for emergency coronary artery perforation.

Findings

The PVDF/DBP membrane showed excellent biocompatibility in in vitro cell assays.

In vivo tests in rabbits demonstrated successful stent delivery and effective sealing of vascular perforation.

Abstract

Covered stents have made a significant contribution to managing coronary artery perforation (CAP). Biocompatibility and toughness are critical properties for the covering membrane of covered stents. The mismatch between covered stents and patient coronary arteries in the clinic restricts the application of covered stents for emergency CAP. The ability to rapidly in situ coating of the stent at the rescue scene has so far been elusive, especially for small-diameter coronary artery covered stents. Here, we investigate a rapid coating technology of covered stents with polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)/dibutyl phthalate (DBP) covering membrane for CAP. The highly tough membrane and the short coating timeframe make it possible to prepare the covered stent suitable for patients with emergency CAP. In vitro cell assays demonstrated the excellent biocompatibility of the covering membrane. Moreover, in vivo evaluation in a rabbit model demonstrated successful delivery of the covered stent through the sheath system and effective sealing of vascular perforation.

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