Nanohydroxyapatite Technology Used in Drug Coated Stents

Nano Interface Technology (NITI) expands application of its platform technology to solve the problem of the drug-coated stent using nanohydroxyapatite coating technology. The recently recognized problem with the drug-coated stents "late stent thrombosis" can be solved using NITI’s nanohydroxyapatite coating technology. The drug-eluting stent has been extremely successful in reducing restenosis from the 20-30% range to single digits. But the growing evidence suggests that drug-eluting stents may be susceptible to an event known as "late stent thrombosis", where blood-clotting on the stent can occur one or more years post-stent, leading to higher mortality. The main reason for late stent thrombosis is lack of endothelization of the stent. The presence of polymer and/or collagen in the coating delays and/or prevents endothelization of the stent surface.

“Bone consists of 70% of hydroxyapatite which helps tissue to bind with it,” stated C. P. Singh, Ph.D., President & CEO of NITI. “The presence of nanohydroxyapatite coatings on the stent can provide excellent opportunity for early endothelization of the stent. The hydroxyapatite and drug coated stent can be fine tuned to prevent restenosis and "late stent thrombosis". The purity of hydroxyapatite in the coatings is very important because the dissolution of hydroxyapatite from the dental implants within weeks is well reported due to the impurity in the coatings.” In the past, a Dental Implant Company faced lawsuit for the early dissolution of the coatings. NITI’s platform technology provides high purity nano-size coatings of the hydroxyapatite as compared to a competitor’s hydroxyapatite-coated stents.