Development of Site Specific Coating and Assessments for Drug-Eluting Ureteral Stents

Endoscopic treatment of upper tract urothelial cancer often leaves residual tumors and may cause new tumors. We report an approach by eluting chemotherapy agents intraluminally over time using a coated ureteric stent. The porous coating layer of Gtn-HPA/CMC-Tyr hydrogel can be constructed by adding chemotherapy drug to the hydrogel solution. As a new approach to fabricate drug eluting stent, a micro mould is designed and fabricated using 3D printing technology, and utilized to coat the stents, ensuring the required adhesion and uniform coating thickness. The release profile of the FITC-BSA model drug embedded in the hydrogel coating demonstrates an initial surge in the first 12 hours followed by consistent release over 14 days. An in vitro dynamic flow setup is conducted to mimic the urinary flow in the ureter. The result showed sustained release of the drug over 14 days of period from the drug embedded hydrogel coated stent. The proposed approach is expected to help prevent conventional complications and improve cancer treatment by effectively delivering the chemotherapy agents on site.