taking into account the stent technology of the prior art and its continued , but less than optimal , evolution toward eliminating the incidence of restenosis following angioplasty , the conceptual framework of this invention was developed using unique approaches to enhanced stent improvement . while the collective changes applied in the prior art towards improving the stent performance did not lead to an ideal , or close to ideal , stent , there have been several independent improvements with each change , which have not been properly integrated to secure a significant overall net improvement . accordingly , carefully selected and properly synchronized changes in the stent technology to achieve unexpected improvements became the basic tenet of the present invention . a major aspect of the present invention is the novel use of a compliant , soft , microfibrous mantle on the outer surface of a stent to dampen the mechanical stresses exerted by the high modulus primary stent construct against the blood vessel endothelial lining . equally important is the design of such microfibers and resulting microfabric , wherein the compliance of the mantle is not only characteristic of the total construct by virtue of comprising non - woven , randomly entangled microfiber , but also inherent in the individual microfibers due to the fact that they are made of inherently low modulus ( high compliance ) polymers , which are electrospun into exceptionally low diameter microfibers having low engineering modulus ( high engineering compliance ). the physicomechanical and morphological features of the electrospun mantle of the present invention represent a considerable improvement over the tubular solution - cast or fiber - reinforced composite tube disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 797 , 485 as discussed in the background section and further analyzed below . specifically , u . s . pat . no . 6 , 797 , 485 describes a one - phase tubular or composite tubular cover for a stent , wherein the latter comprises a polymeric matrix reinforced with monofilament cross - spiral , wherein at least one of the matrix and reinforcement comprise an absorbable crystalline , monocentric , polyaxial copolyester and wherein the composite tubular cover or mantle can be microporous . however , both the tubular mantle and composite tubular mantle ( 1 ) are made independent of the stent and then placed in the stent — this does not provide the exceptional intimacy and surface integration of the mantle electrospun directly onto the stent as described in the present invention ; ( 2 ) are produced , in part , by casting a polymer solution on the mandrill ( not the stent ) and then allowed to dry — this does not provide the exceptional uniformity and high surface area characteristic of the electrospun microfibrous mantle subject of the present invention ; ( 3 ) are made to have much higher bulk density as compared to the electrospun mantle subject of this invention , which provides considerably higher compressibility and engineering compliance — this makes the electrospun mantle a more effective shock absorber between the high modulus metallic stent and the soft luminal wall , as compared to the mantle of u . s . pat . no . 6 , 797 , 485 with its relatively high bulk density ; and ( 4 ) have a much lower surface / volume ratio and practically one type of matrix that provides one diffusion pathway for drug elution as compared to the electrospun mantle of the present invention , which provides more than one type of matrices with high surface / volume ratio which makes it more suitable for more uniform and precise control of more than one drug at more than one diffusion rate and pathway . surprisingly , the direct , high pressure contact of the high modulus , metallic , drug - eluting stent struts and the lumen of the arteries are not well documented in the biomedical literature . this is in spite of the fact that such mechanical stresses are a major cause of chronic injuries in the vascular wall , which have been medicated to a limited extent by incorporating immunosuppressant drugs in the stent polymeric coating . one may argue that the polymeric coating prevents the direct physical contact of the metallic surface with the vessel lining . however , the damaging contact is primarily mechanical and not a mere physical one . the low modulus polymeric thin coating would hardly affect the load transfer from the metallic construct to the lining , hence , no reduction in the stress concentration at the interface would be expected . another unresolved problem associated with the present art of the drug - eluting stent is the use of pharmaceutical compounds that beneficially inhibit the growth proliferation of the smooth muscle cells , but may adversely inhibit the desirable growth of endothelial cells , which are needed to cover the compromised part of the lumen of the treated vessel in a timely manner . accordingly , this invention deals with a microporous stent mantle that ( 1 ) plays the role of shock absorber between the metallic construct and vessel lining ; ( 2 ) functions as a high surface area matrix with modulated morphology to provide a timely and precise release of at least one bioactive agent in a timely manner ; and ( 3 ) can be used to incorporate more than one drug in separate microfibers , which , in turn , allows the use of a first drug that specifically inhibits the growth and proliferation of the smooth muscle , and a second one which is designed to promote the endothelial growth without contending with drug - drug interaction as would be the case when a stent coating is used as drug - containing matrices of both drugs . in meeting the challenge of producing a compliant , stretchable microfibrous mantle , this invention addresses the need for high molecular weight polymeric materials which ( 1 ) are inherently complaint ; ( 2 ) can easily be converted to electrospinnable solutions based on solvents that do not alter the chemical structure of the bioactive agents during the electrospinning process ; and ( 3 ) do not alter the chemistry of the bioactive agents during the electrospinning process . among the typical examples of polymers that are useful for the production of electrospun microfibrous mantles , subject of this invention , are ( 1 ) the absorbable , compliant , crystalline copolymers described in u . s . pat . nos . 6 , 462 , 169 ( 2002 ) and 6 , 794 , 485 ( 2004 ); ( 2 ) absorbable caprolactone polymers of u . s . pat . no . 6 , 197 , 320 ( 2001 ); ( 3 ) the bioswellable , crystalline , amphiphilic block / graft polymers of u . s . patent application ser . no . 60 / 690 , 751 ( jun . 15 , 2005 ) based on polyethylene glycol copolyester with cyclic lactones and carbonates ; ( 4 ) the crystalline , high compliance glycolide copolymers based on segmented copolymers of lactide and other cyclic monomers of u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 767 , 975 ( jan . 29 , 2004 ); ( 5 ) compliant , long - lasting , absorbable polymer of pct application serial no . 05 / 42978 ( nov . 29 , 2005 ); ( 6 ) functionalized , absorbable , segmented copolyesters of u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 693 , 361 ( oct . 24 , 2003 ); and ( 7 ) the amphiphilic methacrylate copolymers described in pct application serial no . 05 / 24120 ( jul . 8 , 2005 ). to produce a micromantled metallic stent comprising a microfibrous , non - woven mantle formed directly onto the metallic stent , this invention deals with a new electrospinning process . this is a modification of the method disclosed in u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 175 , 635 ( jul . 5 , 2005 ), wherein the receiving metallic drum is replaced by a polymeric mandrill serving as a holder of the metallic stent and , in effect , as the receiving electrode . to ground the metallic stent , a partially embedded t - shaped , conductive metallic wire ( or narrow film ) comprising a radial conductive band ( or strip ), continued axially toward the end of the mandrill as a linear conductive strip , is used to allow the electric current to flow from the stent to the grounding point . alternatively , the t - shaped conducting components are formed through the steps of ( 1 ) selective surface activation of the intended area of the mandrill surface to introduce covalent bonded carboxylic , sulfonic , or phosphonic groups following the teaching of u . s . pat . no . 5 , 849 , 415 ( 1998 ) and u . s . patent application ser . no . 60 / 662 , 908 ( mar . 17 , 2005 ); and ( 2 ) directed surface polymerization of pyrrole to form the conductive t - shaped film , following the teaching of u . s . pat . no . 5 , 849 , 415 ( 1998 ) and u . s . patent application ser . no . 60 / 662 , 908 ( mar . 17 , 2005 ). among the non - conductive polymers which can be used to produce mandrills are high density polyethylene , ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene , nylon 12 , and polyether - ether ketone . to satisfy the clinical needs which have not been met in disclosures of the prior art on drug - eluting stents , in terms of providing the effective concentration of bioactive active agents in a timely manner , the present invention provides for the use of a series of agents which can be highly efficacious in controlling virtually all the biological events leading to restenosis . among the typical examples of these agents that can be used individually or in different combinations in separate microfibers are those discussed below : ( 1 ) paclitaxel , is an antineoplastic compound which is used clinically in commercially available drug - eluting stents . this drug can also be used as an anti - inflammatory agent with an exceptionally narrow therapeutic window beyond which it can be cytotoxic . accordingly , this invention provides for the use of paclitaxel in different fractions of the microfibers in the capacity of an antineoplastic agent in combination with other drugs known for their anti - inflammatory activities ( e . g ., naproxen ) and / or being immunosuppressant ( e . g ., rapamycin ). ( 2 ) rapamycin is clinically used in commercially available drug - eluting stents . this drug is also used as an immunosuppressant having a wide therapeutic window . however , its use in drug - eluting stents in the prior art may not provide the optimum pharmacokinetics when released from a non - uniform coating . accordingly , the present invention provides for the use of rapamycin at two drug loadings in different fractions of the microfibrous mass of the stent mantle — one set of microfibers provides an initial burst and the second set of microfibers provides a prolonged , sustained release of the drug at lower concentrations . this invention also provides for use of rapamycin in combination with at least one additional bioactive agent , with different pharmacological activity in one or more set of microfibers of the mantle &# 39 ; s microfibrous mass . typical examples of these other agents include endothelial cell growth promoters ( e . g ., vascular endothelial growth factor or its polypeptide functional analog ), smooth muscle growth inhibitors , and antibiotics . ( 3 ) antineoplastic agents , such as dactimycin , doxorubicin , mitomycin , mitoxantrone , and topotecan , which also exhibit antibiotic activities . these can be used individually or in combination with other drugs ( loaded in separate microfibers ), particularly those known to exhibit anti - inflammatory activity and / or promote endothelial cell growth . ( 4 ) antineoplastic agents are also folate antagonists , such as methotrexate . the latter drug is also antimetabolite and immunosuppressant but can be an irritant . to mediate the latter effect , methotrexate can be used in combination with an anti - inflammatory drug and / or endothelial cell growth promoters , such as vascular endothelial growth factor ( vegf ) or its polypeptide functional analog ( loaded in different microfibers ). ( 5 ) anti - inflammatory drugs , which can be used alone or in combination with antineoplastic agents and / or immunosuppressants ( loaded in different microfibers ). examples of these anti - inflammatory drugs include ( a ) colchicine , which is also an antineoplastic compound that can be used to retard smooth muscle cell proliferation and can preferably be used in combination with an endothelial cell growth promoter , such as vegf or its polypeptide functional analog ; ( b ) the nsaid , indomethacin ; ( c ) the nsaid , piroxicam , which may also be an immunosuppressant ; and ( d ) the corticosteroid , prednisone , which may also exhibit antineoplastic activity . ( 6 ) leflunamide , a member of the isoxazole class of drugs , exhibits anti - inflammatory , antiproliferative , and immunosuppressive activities . this can be used alone or in combination with an endothelial cell promoter . ( 7 ) thalidomide is an anti - inflammatory drug that also exhibits anti - angiogenic and immunosuppressive activities . this can be used alone or in combination with an endothelial cell growth promoter . ( 8 ) curcumin is an anti - inflammatory drug , which also exhibits antiproliferative activities . ( 9 ) mycophenolate mofetil is an immunosuppressant that is endowed with anti - inflammatory properties . this can be used alone or in combination with an endothelial cell promoter ( loaded in different microfibers ). ( 10 ) methotrexate is an anti - inflammatory and immuno - regulatory drug . it exhibits antiproliferative activity and can be used alone or in combination with an endothelial cell growth promoter , such as vascular endothelial growth factor or its polypeptide functional analog ( loaded in different microfibers ). ( 11 ) dihydrofolate reductase is an anti - infective , antineoplastic , and anti - inflammatory agent . it can be used alone or in combination with an endothelial cell growth promoter . ( 12 ) deferoxamine has been used extensively as chelation therapy in iron - loaded states and noted recently for its usefulness as an antiproliferative , anti - inflammatory , and immunosuppressive agent ( weinberg , k ., am . j . pediatr . hematol . oncol . 12 , 9 , 1990 ). it can be used alone or in combination with an endothelial cell growth promoter ( loaded in different microfibers ). ( 13 ) antibiotics produced by members of the bacterial genus streptomyces , such as streptomycin - b , actinomycin - f1 , and actinomycin - d , also exhibit antineoplastic and / or immunosuppressive activities . ( 14 ) antineoplastics which are also antimetabolites , such as fludarabine and fluorouracil , can be used alone or in combination with an anti - inflammatory drug . in concert with one of the basic tenets of this invention dealing with use of drug combinations , a key aspect of the present invention is the electrostatic spinning of drug - loaded polymeric solutions under special conditions to load the different drugs individually and in separate microfibers . accordingly , a specific aspect of this invention deals with an electrospinning system comprising more than one syringe , each prepared to dispense one particular drug . the solutions used in all the syringes may or may not comprise the same polymer . the delivery ( or extrusion ) of the drug - loaded polymer solution from the different syringes can be executed in series , simultaneously or intermittently through a concerted order of series and parallel modes of delivery . further illustrations of the present invention are provided by the following examples : synthesis and characterization of typical absorbable , compliant , polyaxial , segmented copolyesters ( co — p1 ) following a similar method to that described in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 462 , 169 , a triaxial polymeric copolymer was made from 50 / 50 ( molar ) caprolactone and trimethylene carbonate ( tmc ) and then end - grafted with 90 / 10 ( molar ) l - lactide / tmc . accordingly , the polymeric initiator was prepared by ring opening polymerization of ε - caprolactone ( 0 . 25 mole ) and tmc ( 0 . 25 mole ) in the presence of stannous octanoate as a catalyst ( at a monomer / catalyst ratio of 15 , 000 ) and triethanolamine as the initiator ( at a monomer to initiator ratio of 300 ). the polymerization was achieved by heating at 180 ° c . for 3 hours . the resulting product was cooled below 150 ° c . and then mixed under nitrogen atmosphere with l - lactide ( 0 . 45 mole ) and ε - caprolactone ( 0 . 05 mole ). the system was stirred while heating to 190 - 200 ° c . to achieve a uniform melt . the temperature was then lowered to 140 ° c . and the reaction was continued without stirring for 24 hours . the polymer was isolated , ground , dried , and heated under reduced pressure to remove unreacted monomer . the polymer was characterized by ir and nmr ( for identity ), gpc ( m w = 130 kda ), thermal transition ( t m = 155 ° c . ), and inherent viscosity ( i . v .) in chloroform ( i . v .= 1 . 0 dl / g ). this is prepared by first end - grafting polyethylene glycol ( molecular weight = 20 kda ) ( 10 g ) with trimethylene carbonate ( 10 g ) in the presence of stannous octanoate as a catalyst at monomer / catalyst molar ratio of 6 , 000 at 165 ° c . until practically complete monomer conversion is achieved . the product of the reaction is reacted further with a mixture of l - lactide ( 102 g ) and glycolide ( 8 g ) at 165 ° c . until a practically complete monomer conversion is achieved . the resulting product is isolated and purified by distilling residual monomers by heating at about 90 ° c . under reduced pressure . the purified polymer is characterized for molecular weight ( gpc ), thermal transition ( dsc ), identity ( ir ), and composition ( nmr ). c - succinylation of co — p2 from example 2 and characterization of resulting acid - bearing copolymer ( co — p3 ) co — p2 from example 2 is reacted with maleic anhydride under free - radical conditions to covalently bond the acid - producing functionalities to the copolyether - ester ( co — p2 ) main chain . in a typical run , this entails heating the polyether - ester ( 20 g ) in dry dioxane ( 100 ml ) with benzoyl peroxide ( 350 mg ) for 4 hours at 85 ° c . the product is precipitated in ice - water , isolated , and dried under reduced pressure ( at 25 ° c ., 40 ° c ., and then 50 ° c .). the dried product is then characterized for identity ( ir and nmr ), molecular weight ( gpc ), and carboxyl content ( acidimetry ). to convert residual anhydride groups , if any , the resulting product is further hydrolyzed , selectively , ( by heating a concentrated dioxane solution at 50 ° c . for 2 - 6 hours followed by precipitation and drying ) to yield the desired carboxylic acid - bearing c - succinylated liquid polymer ( co — p3 ). this is then characterized for composition ( nmr , ir ), carboxyl content ( acidimetry ), and molecular weight ( gpc ). preparation and characterization of long - lasting 88 / 14 segmented l - lactide / trimethylene carbonate absorbable copolymer ( co — p4 ) ( pltmc ) the copolymer ( co — p4 ) was prepared following the teaching of u . s . pat . no . 6 , 342 , 065 by the two - step copolymerization of l - lactide with trimethylene carbonate in the presence of 1 , 3 - propanediol and stannous octanoate as the initiator and catalyst , respectively . the polymer was isolated , ground , dried , and heated above 80 ° c . under reduced pressure to remove residual monomer . the polymer was characterized for identity ( ir ), thermal properties ( dsc ), and molecular weight by gpc ( ch 2 cl 2 ). the polymer was shown to have a t m = 166 ° c . and m w = 160 kda . the copolymer was then compression molded into a 0 . 1 mm - thick film at 180 ° c . the polymer from example 4 ( cop4 ) is reacted with maleic anhydride under free - radical conditions similar to those used in example 3 . isolation and characterization of c - succinylated pltmc are conducted as noted for the polymers of example 3 . synthesis and characterization of non - absorbable , amphiphilic , segmented , alkyl methacrylate copolymer : general method the copolymerization is carried out in two steps . in the first step , n - vinyl pyrrolidone or methacrylic acid , a small amount of one or more alkyl methacrylate ( s ), and a catalytic amount of a free - radical initiator is mixed under an oxygen - free environment in a mechanically stirred reaction flask . the mixture is heated for about 30 minutes at 65 ° c .- 85 ° c . to allow partial polymerization of the comonomers . at this point , the second step commences by adding a solution of alkyl methacrylate and an additional amount of the free - radical initiator over a long period of time . after completing the addition of the second charge , the reaction is continued for an additional 30 minutes . when the copolymer formation essentially has ceased , as determined by gel permeation chromatographic analysis of unreacted comonomer , the reaction is terminated and the copolymer is precipitated in water , rinsed with dry ice - cooled methanol . further purification of the copolymer is accomplished by precipitating its chloroform solution into dry ice - cooled methanol . the purified product is then filtered and dried at room temperature in a laminar flow hood and then at 40 ° c . under reduced pressure until a constant weight is attained . the purified copolymer is characterized for molecular weight ( gpc ), identify ( ir ), and composition ( nmr and elemental nitrogen analysis ). synthesis and characterization of segmented 20 / 40 / 40 ( molar ) n - vinyl pyrrolidone ( nvp ), n - butyl methacrylate ( bma ), n - hexyl methacrylate ( hmp ) copolymer ( co — p6 ) the preparation of co — p6 , its isolation , purification , and characterization are conducted following the general method described in example 6 . more specific details are provided below . the first charge is made of an n - vinyl - 2 - pyrrolidone ( nvp ) rich comonomer mixture . thus nvp ( 0 . 20 mole ), n - butyl methacrylate ( bma ) ( 0 . 05 mole ), n - hexyl methacrylate ( hma ) ( 0 . 05 mole ), 1 , 4 - dioxane ( 49 ml ) and 2 - 2 ′ azo - bis - isobutyronitrile ( 2 . 4 mmole ) are mixed / dissolved . the mixture is sparged with nitrogen for two minutes , added to a flask that is kept under a positive nitrogen pressure , and mechanically stirred at 60 rpm in a 65 ° c . silicon oil bath for a total of 30 minutes . for the second charge , hma ( 0 . 35 mole ), bma ( 0 . 35 mole ), 1 , 4 - dioxane ( 49 ml ), and 2 - 2 ′ azo - bis - isobutyronitrile ( 2 . 31 mmole ) are mixed / dissolved . the mixture is sparged with nitrogen for 2 minutes and added to the product of the first charge at a constant flow rate ( controlled by a peristaltic pump ) over a period of 18 hours . the reaction is allowed to continue at 65 ° c . for an additional 30 minutes . the polymer is precipitated in ice water in a blender , filtered using a filter funnel , blended in − 60 ° c . methanol , filtered and dried under reduced pressure at room temperature . it is dissolved as a 20 - weight - percent solution in chloroform , precipitated in − 60 ° c . methanol , filtered , dissolved in chloroform , poured onto a teflon tray , and dried to constant weight under reduced pressure at 45 ° c . co — p6 is characterized for molecular weight ( gpc ), identity ( ir ), and composition ( nmr and elemental nitrogen analysis ). production of a typical microfibrous mantle on stainless steel stent using a modified electrospinning method using standard equipment for electrostatic spinning , at least one solution of at least one polymer in at least one solvent ( e . g ., chloroform , chcl 3 and / or dichloromethane dcm , acetone or a mixture of acetone and methanol and a mixture of acetone and water ) is electrospun using ( 1 ) 10 to 35 percent ( w / v ) solution containing a known amount of a soluble drug or a dispersion of drug micro -/ nanoparticles , depending on the molecular weight of the polymer or polymers ; ( 2 ) a voltage differential of 15 - 20 kv depending on the sought fiber diameter ; ( 3 ) a tip - to - collection distance ( distance between extruder and collection unit ) of 7 - 10 ″ depending on the desired diameter and solvent used ; and ( 4 ) a solution ( or dispersion ) delivery rate of 0 . 05 to 0 . 3 ml / min . depending on the solvent volatility . in most cases , heating of the surrounding environment may not be required . the resulting microfibers are collected on a metallic microporous stent held on a metallic stainless steel , axially micro - grooved holder ( having an outside diameter to fit intimately to the inside diameter of the stent ), coaxially attached to a grounded , rotating mandrill , capable of controllable radial and axial motion . the electrospun microfiber diameter can be modulated by controlling the polymer concentration and voltage . the thickness of the microporous mantle formed on the stent can be varied by controlling the electrospinning rate and time . the mantled stents are removed and dried prior to packaging . a few mantles are used for subsequent characterization for ( 1 ) bulk composition using nmr and ir ; ( 2 ) surface composition using electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis ( esca ); ( 3 ) microfiber diameter and microfabric thickness / uniformity ( sem ); ( 4 ) molecular weight ( gpc , inherent viscosity ); and ( 5 ) thermal transitions associated with crystalline melting , glass transition melting , or heat of fusion ( dsc ). a set of mantled stents is used for radial deformation under simulated in vivo deployment and inflation using a typical angioplasty balloon system . a second set of inflated ( 1 . 5 - 2 . 5 ×) mantled stents is used to ( 1 ) determine surface energy using dynamic contact angle measurement ; ( 2 ) determine the effect of aging in a phosphate buffered solution at ph 7 . 4 and 37 ° c . for 1 , 2 , 7 , 14 , 21 , 28 , and 35 days on microfiber morphology and mantle mass loss ; and ( 3 ) release rate of active ingredient ( s ). preferred embodiments of the invention have been described using specific terms and devices . the words and terms used are for illustrative purposes only . the words and terms are words and terms of description , rather than of limitation . it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made by those of ordinary skill art without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention , which is set forth in the following claims . in addition it should be understood that aspects of the various embodiments may be interchanged in whole or in part . therefore , the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to descriptions and examples herein .
pharmacologically active , easy - to - deploy , biomechanically compatible , inflatable endovascular , drug - eluting stent are formed of a primary expandable polymeric or metallic construct , intimately mantled with a biomechanically compatible , polymeric microporous , microfibrous , compliant , stretchable fabric formed by direct electrospinning onto the outside surface of the primary construct using at least one polymer solution containing at least one active compound , selected from those expected to control key biological events leading to in - stent restenosis .