The Application of the Bio-material Pla in Biodegradable Coronary Stents

Heart disease is a common medical condition that affects hundreds of thousands of people each year in the United States alone. In response, scientists have spent decades researching technologies to treat this disease. Coronary stents are a technology developed to keep collapsing heart vessels open to promote proper blood flow and prevent further cardiovascular complications. Since the 1970s, there have been multiple generations of heart stent designs, including metal stents, drug-eluting stents, and biodegradable stents. There is an ongoing transition from drug-eluting stents, still usually composed of metals such as stainless steel or cobaltchrome alloys, to biodegradable stents. While stents typically function properly, sometimes there are unintended consequences due to permanent placement of these stents. Biodegradable stents are made of absorbable biomaterials and function in the same way as the aforementioned metal alloy stents, but differ from metal stents in that they entirely disappear from the body in roughly two years after they have restored the problematic arteries. Most of this particular biodegradable stent is composed of absorbable material called polylactic acid (PLA). In comparison to previous technologies, PLA stents have been praised for their incredible safety and biocompatibility. PLA coronary stents are sustainable in the sense that they are environmentally considerate and improve the quality of life of the patients who have them. In recent years, there have been many successful applications of PLA, such as in tissue engineering, targeted drug delivery systems, and implants. This paper will focus on the advantages of the application of polylactic acid as a biodegradable material for coronary stents. Key Words—Coronary stents, Polylactic acid (PLA), Biodregradable materials, Bare metal stents, Drug-eluting stents, PCI, Bioengineering. THE HISTORY AND PURPOSE OF