Mechanism of controlled release kinetics from medical devices

Utilization of biodegradable polymers for controlled drug delivery has gained immense attention in the pharmaceutical and medical device industry to administer various drugs, proteins and other bio-molecules both systematically and locally to cure several diseases. The efficacy and toxicity of this local therapeutics depends upon drug release kinetics, which will further decide drug deposition, distribution, and retention at the target site. Drug Eluting Stent (DES) presently possesses clinical importance as an alternative to Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting due to the ease of the procedure and comparable safety and efficacy. Many models have been developed to describe the drug delivery from polymeric carriers based on the different mechanisms which control the release phenomenon from DES. Advanced characterization techniques facilitate an understanding of the complexities behind design and related drug release behavior of drug eluting stents, which aids in the development of improved future drug eluting systems. This review discusses different drug release mechanisms, engineering principles, mathematical models and current trends that are proposed for drug-polymer coated medical devices such as cardiovascular stents and different analytical methods currently utilized to probe diverse characteristics of drug eluting devices.