Development of multi-layer membrane manufacturing technology for stent coating using electrospinning technology

A stent is a medical device used when the flow of blood or body fluids such as the gastrointestinal tract and blood vessels is not smooth due to occurrence of malignant or benign diseases. When a stent is coated using electrospinning, it has the advantage of being able to add various functions, such as coating drugs or selecting various polymers such as biodegradable polymers and high elastic polymers according to the application. However, due to problems such as weak physical properties and shrinkage peculiar to electrospun fibers, electrospun coated stents are not currently in use. In this paper, an electrospun silicone/PCL multi-layer membrane was prepared using biodegradable polymer PCL and medical-grade silicone used for stent coating. The prepared electrospun multi-layer membrane was able to compensate for the weak physical properties of the electrospun fiber through the silicone film. In addition, it was confirmed that there was no problem in using this multi-layer membrane prepared for medical use through cytotoxicity evaluation. When the stent is coated using the electrospun multi-layer film, it is expected that a multifunctional stent with properties similar to the existing covered stent through a silicone film and with various functions added through an electrospun fiber can be manufactured.