AVS 49th International Symposium
    Applied Surface Science Friday Sessions
       Session AS+MM+BI-FrM

Invited Paper AS+MM+BI-FrM1
Characterization of Implant Surfaces

Friday, November 8, 2002, 8:20 am, Room C-106

Session: BioMEMS and Medical Devices
Presenter: M. Grunze, University of Heidelberg, Germany
Correspondent: Click to Email

In this talk I will describe my personal recollection of the development of polymer coating (Polyzene F®) for cardiovascular stents from concept to market. The idea was to develop a "stealth" surface coating for metallic stents which reduces inflammation, thrombosis and restenosis of the blood vessels. My talk discusses the design strategies of the polymer, development of the coating process and the necessary Surface Science characterization, protein, cell and bacteria adhesion experiments, the technical certification process, in vivo experiments in animal models, and the problems and successes in starting a new company to market the product. At this time the story is open-ended, since the results of ongoing long term clinical studies were not available at the time this abstract was written.