Zein-based smart coatings for drug-eluting stents: investigations via static and microfluidic approaches

Coronary heart disease is currently responsible for a significant percentage of global mortality in developed and developing nations alike. This occurrence takes place despite the advancement in medical technology and improved treatment options, such as stenting procedures. Due to complications with restenosis and stent thrombosis that are associated with current commercial stents, there has been a growing interest in stent research and development in order to eradicate the causes of such clinical events. The selection of an antioxidant, non-thrombogenic coating has been a major obstacle to the development of drug-eluting stents (DES), and, to date, a truly biocompatible stent platform remains elusive. Moreover, there is a need to assess stent coatings within an in vitro platform prior to in vivo and clinical studies in order to minimize adverse effects. Even if considerable progress has been made over the last two decades in the development of flow chambers to monitor and study thrombus formation outside of the circulation, blood-material interactions are still little investigated under static and dynamic modes. In order to avoid some of the drawbacks of synthetic polymers, such as their undesirable degradation products, long-lasting presence, or potential biocompatibility issues, the aim of this PhD thesis was to investigate zein as a green and abundant plant-derived protein as a coating material for DES applications. This study aimed to understand the potential uses of zein as a controlled release matrix for drug delivery systems, in addition to developing a microfluidic platform to assess the behavior and hemocompatibility of the proposed plant-based stent coatings under flow conditions.