Methods of incorporation antimicrobial agents in stents

Abstract

Commercial stents commonly used nowadays, especially metallic ones, present several disadvantages, such as corrosion, infection and restenosis, leading to health complications for the patient, or even to his death. Although there are different kinds of stents, like pharmacological stents, that can deliver drugs, there is not an “ideal” stent being able to avoid these disadvantages, of commercial ones. Thus, in order to minimize the reaction of human body and fight the adhesion of microorganisms to stent surface, some stent coatings have been developed. This review paper describes some antibacterial agents, like antibiotics, quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs), silver and silver nanoparticles, that can be coated on stent surface, in order to avoid infection, as also as their behavior in presence of bacterial microorganisms. Additionally, some results of incorporation of these antibacterial agents in implantable devices will be discussed. Finally, it will be designated some of principal methods of nanoparticles implementation, such as impregnation, layer by layer(LBL) technique, thiol chemistry and physical vapor deposition (PVD) method. The inclusion of antimicrobial agent in nanoparticles increases its antimicrobial effect, due to the major surface area.