20.109:Notebook/Biodegradable, anti-thrombotic stents/Entry Base

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Biodegradable, anti-thrombotic stents
By Afrah Shafquat and Zeina Siam

Project Overview
Our project will focus on creating a biodegradble stent which is able to efficiently deliver drugs to degrade the plague which causes the narrowing of the lumen in coronary arteries.

Background
During the lifetime of a human being, deposits cling to the arterial walls resulting in the formation of arterial plaques which constrict the lumen of the arteries. This in turn causes decrease in blood flow to the heart and also increases the chances of heart strokes as there is a high chance of clots getting stuck in the constriction. Stents can be used to prevent the constriction fo the arteries as theiir structure gives support. These stents have also been used to elute drugs which can help degrade plaques in the arteries increasing the lumen and also drugs which prevent thrombosis from occuring. Unfortunately some studies have shown that these stents increase the chance of thrombosis.

Research Problem and Goals
Our goal is to create an efficient stent which reduces the thrombosis problem, and elutes drugs (anti-thrombotic, anti-plaque) efficiently.

Project Details and Methods
The stents also have the problem of increasing inflammation, which can be reduced by the type of material being used. The material to be used is PLGA(polylactic co-glycolic acid), as it is biodegradable; its products are carbondioxide and water, which are bioabsorbable and have relatively less toxic effects as compared to other materials. Also according to researches by Peng et al, and Kelly et al, the Stent type SES (sirolimus-eluting stents) causes less neointimal growth in cornary arteries (Peng) and lower stresses to be induced in the arteries (Kelly). So the stent type used in this experiment would be PSES (short for PLGA with SES characterisitics, the same ones being used in Kelly et al's paper).

Procedures, and details to be determined.