Interactions of anti-proliferative and anti-platelet drugs with self-assembled monolayers: a future strategy in stent development

Abstract

The current study is part of an overall goal to develop new drug-eluting stents (DES). In this paper, for the first time, simultaneous elution of anti-proliferative and anti-platelet drugs from self-assembled monolayers was investigated. Methyl- and carboxyl-terminated mixed self-assembled monolayers were prepared on gold (Au) surfaces. The samples were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), contact angle goniometry (CA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). To demonstrate that the resulting structures can be used for simultaneous delivery of paclitaxel and dipyridamole, the drug release in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) was studied using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Obtained results confirmed successful transfer of drugs to PBS. Released dipyridamole levels were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than the delivered paclitaxel after 1, 2, 3, 7, 14 and 28 days. These findings indicate that the proposed method might be suitable for development of an advanced generation of drug-eluting stents.