Lipid Coating for Medical Devices Enhancing Drug Release
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical devices with static surfaces and polymer coatings are inadequate for delivering therapeutic agents to dynamic or elastic surfaces, as they often fail to provide sufficient drug release to target tissues, especially when the device is transiently inserted or has a non-static surface.
Innovation Solution
A medical device with an expandable and collapsible structure coated with a bioactive agent and a lipid coating that is solid at room temperature but melts at body temperature, facilitating controlled release and improved delivery of therapeutic agents to tissues.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If polymer coatings are used on static surfaces, then drug release is controlled, but the coating is not suitable for dynamic or elastic surfaces and does not provide sufficient drug release to target tissues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by using a lipid coating with a specific melting point range (37-45°C) that transitions from solid at room temperature to liquid at body temperature. This phase change parameter enables the coating to adapt to dynamic surfaces while maintaining drug delivery effectiveness, resolving the contradiction between reliability and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a composite lipid coating system that combines multiple lipid components with specific melting points. This composite material approach creates a coating that is both adaptable to dynamic surfaces and effective at controlling drug release, simultaneously addressing both requirements.
2Reliability
If the lipid coating melts at body temperature, then drug release is enhanced at the target site, but the coating may be unstable during handling and storage at room temperature
Solution Approach 1:
The patent carefully selects lipid components with melting points in the 37-45°C range, creating a narrow transition zone between solid and liquid states. This parameter optimization ensures the coating remains stable during handling (solid state) while effectively releasing drug at body temperature (liquid state), resolving the stability-release contradiction.
Solution Approach 2:
The lipid coating acts as an intermediary medium that transitions between solid and liquid states based on temperature. This intermediary behavior allows the coating to maintain structural integrity during storage and handling while facilitating drug release at the target site, bridging the contradiction between stability and effectiveness.
3Productivity
If the device is transiently inserted, then minimal intervention is required, but the polymer coating does not provide sufficient drug release rate to target tissue
Solution Approach 1:
The patent exploits phase transitions of the lipid coating, which melts from solid to liquid at body temperature (37-45°C). This phase change dramatically increases the drug release rate during the brief transient insertion period, enabling high productivity despite short duration of action. The phase transition occurs precisely when the device contacts target tissue, maximizing drug delivery efficiency.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The lipid coating enhances the delivery of bioactive agents by protecting the agent during handling, reducing friction, and ensuring effective release at the target site, increasing the amount of therapeutic agent delivered and maintaining structural integrity of the coating.
Implementation Method 1
a lipid coating on the agent coating, wherein the lipid coating is solid at room temperature and liquid at 37 °C
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates compositions for delivering therapeutic agents from a medical device including an expandable and collapsible structure and methods employing them. A lipid coating including one or more fatty acids increases the amount of therapeutic agent released from the device at the delivery site. The therapeutic agent can be in a matrix including a hydrophilic polymer or an amphiphilic polymer. Release and adhesion coatings can also facilitate delivery of therapeutic agent.