2020, Saqib, Muhammad, Bernhardt, Ricardo, Kästner, Markus, Beshchasna, Natalia, Cuniberti, Gianaurelio, Opitz, Jörg

Stenting is a widely used treatment procedure for coronary artery disease around the world. Stents have a complex geometry, which makes the characterization of their corrosion difficult due to the absence of a mathematical model to calculate the entire stent surface area (ESSA). Therefore, corrosion experiments with stents are mostly based on qualitative analysis. Additionally, the quantitative analysis of corrosion is conducted with simpler samples made of stent material instead of stents, in most cases. At present, several methods are available to calculate the stent outer surface area (SOSA), whereas no model exists for the calculation of the ESSA. This paper presents a novel mathematical model for the calculation of the ESSA using the SOSA as one of the main parameters. The ESSA of seven magnesium alloy stents (MeKo Laser Material Processing GmbH, Sarstedt, Germany) were calculated using the developed model. The calculated SOSA and ESSA for all stents are 33.34%(±0.26%) and 111.86 mm (±0.85 mm), respectively. The model is validated by micro-computed tomography (micro-CT), with a difference of 12.34% (±0.46%). The value of corrosion rates calculated using the ESSA computed with the developed model will be 12.34% (±0.46%) less than that of using ESSA obtained by micro-CT.

2019, Plaine, A.H., Silva, M.R.D., Bolfarini, C.

In this paper, an attempt was made to combine theoretical composition design and thermo-mechanical treatments to produce a metastable β-type titanium alloy with mechanical compatibility for self-expandable stent applications. Metastable β-type Ti-29Nb-13Ta-4.6â»Zr (wt.%) thin-wires with an elastic modulus of 46â»GPa and a yield strength of 920â»MPa were successfully fabricated by cold rolling and low temperature aging. This combination of high yield strength and comparatively low elastic modulus resulted in enhanced elastic recoverable strain of 1.9%, which is much higher than that of the conventional metallic stent materials. The microstructure responsible for the much sought-after mechanical properties was observed to be mainly consisted of a homogeneous distribution of nanometer-sized α-precipitates in a β-phase matrix obtained via a spinodal decomposition of the pre-existed α″-martensite phase through α″â»→â»α″ leanâ»+â»α″ richâ»→â»αâ»+â»β. The α-precipitates increase the strength of the material by hindering the motion of dislocations (spinodal hardening) while the β-matrix with relatively low content of β-stabilizers gives rise to the observed low elastic modulus. More broadly, these findings could be extended to developing advanced metastable β-type titanium alloys for implant and other engineering applications.

2020, Yang, Ying, Gao, Peng, Wang, Juan, Tu, Qiufen, Bai, Long, Xiong, Kaiqin, Qiu, Hua, Zhao, Xin, Maitz, Manfred F., Wang, Huaiyu, Li, Xiangyang, Zhao, Qiang, Xiao, Yin, Huang, Nan, Yang, Zhilu

Stenting is currently the major therapeutic treatment for cardiovascular diseases. However, the nonbiogenic metal stents are inclined to trigger a cascade of cellular and molecular events including inflammatory response, thrombogenic reactions, smooth muscle cell hyperproliferation accompanied by the delayed arterial healing, and poor reendothelialization, thus leading to restenosis along with late stent thrombosis. To address prevalence critical problems, we present an endothelium-mimicking coating capable of rapid regeneration of a competently functioning new endothelial layer on stents through a stepwise metal (copper)-catechol-(amine) (MCA) surface chemistry strategy, leading to combinatorial endothelium-like functions with glutathione peroxidase-like catalytic activity and surface heparinization. Apart from the stable nitric oxide (NO) generating rate at the physiological level (2:2 × 10a'10 mol/cm2/min lasting for 60 days), this proposed strategy could also generate abundant amine groups for allowing a high heparin conjugation efficacy up to ∼1 μg/cm2, which is considerably higher than most of the conventional heparinized surfaces. The resultant coating could create an ideal microenvironment for bringing in enhanced antithrombogenicity, anti-inflammation, anti-proliferation of smooth muscle cells, re-endothelialization by regulating relevant gene expressions, hence preventing restenosis in vivo. We envision that the stepwise MCA coating strategy would facilitate the surface endothelium-mimicking engineering of vascular stents and be therefore helpful in the clinic to reduce complications associated with stenosis. © 2020 American Association for the Advancement of Science. All rights reserved.