Multilayered electrospun fibrous meshes for restenosis-suppressing metallic stents

Nanofiber is a flexible and highly porous mesh that is advantageous for coating bare metal stent and local drug delivery. Herein, we developed drug-eluting stent coated with PCL/PU blending coaxial nanofiber for controlling drug release manner and suppressing in-stent restenosis, which is a representative side effect of stenting surgery. The shell of coaxial electrospun nanofibrous are composed of poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and polyurethane (PU) for biodegradability and elasticity to the polymeric coating of stent. Paclitaxel (PTX) is loaded into both the core and shell through electrospinning using coaxial nozzle with different weight ratio. The morphology of nanofiber-coated stent, expansion state, and core/shell structure of nanofiber were visualized by scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope. As more amount of PCL/PU was infused from the outer nozzle, PTX release speed from the nanofiber was increased. And PTX suppressed L6 cell proliferation in vitro expecting potential possibility of PTX-loaded coaxial nanofiber as a drug-eluting stent coating material.