Abstract
AbstractPoly(styrene‐b‐isobutylene‐b‐styrene) (SIBS) block copolymer, a thermoplastic elastomer, is used in clinical practice as the drug‐eluting polymeric coating on the Taxus® coronary stent. We have been developing new architectures comprising an arborescent arbPIB core synthesized by inimer‐type living carbocationic polymerization of isobutylene (IB) by the 4‐(2‐methoxy‐isopropyl)styrene and 4‐(1,2‐oxirane‐isopropyl)styrene inimers in conjunction with TiCl4, from which polystyrene is blocked (D_SIBS). These novel self‐assembling “double” networks have unique properties. ElectroNanospray™, a proprietary technology developed at the University of Minnesota, was used to coat coronary stents with selected D_SIBS polymers loaded with Dexamethasone, a model drug. This paper will demonstrate how drug release profiles can be influenced by both the molecular weight of the DIB midblock and spraying conditions of the polymer‐drug mixture.
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