Articles techniques et présentations

Erodible polymeric scaffolds can mitigate long-term risks associated with permanent implants currently used to treat ischemic artery disease. However, safe deployment of erodible scaffolds is predicated on understanding the interactions between evolved material by-products and local biological tissues.

We developed an integrated computational model of polymeric scaffold degradation, by-product transport, and metabolism to study how the initial molecular weight distribution (MWD) of polylactic acid (PLA) influences by-product fate in the arterial environment. A series of parametric studies were conducted to determine how initial scaffold MWD and carboxylic acid content impact polymer degradation kinetics and transient by-product tissue concentrations throughout the erosion process.