Development of a 3D-Printed Drug-Eluting Stent for Treating Obstructive Salivary Gland Disease

Abstract

Most studies of obstructive salivary gland disease have reported only statistical aspects, surgical operations, and prescriptions and have simulated the phenomena occurring in the salivary glands and ductal tissues. However, no direct lesion treatments involving drug-eluting stents have been used to reduce salivary pooling induced by inflammation. In this study, a biodegradable polymer polycaprolactone (PCL)-based antibiotic-eluting stent was developed to treat recurrent obstructive salivary gland disease. The structure's diameter was designed after consideration of the human anatomical structure, and the data were processed in a form suitable for three-dimensional (3D) printing via computer-aided design and manufacturing. After the proper mixing conditions of the antibiotics and PCL were ensured, the optimized printing conditions were secured and the stent was successfully printed with the original lumen size diameter maintained. Amoxicillin and cefotaxime, the antibiotics loaded in this study, did not lose their original antimicrobial activity under the 3D printing process and were effectively released from the constructs for verification of the antimicrobial activity against the causative bacteria according to their concentrations. In addition, antibiotic-eluting stents fabricated in a mesh-like network form were proven stable and capable of sustained release, thereby demonstrating the possibility of treating recurrent obstruction salivary gland disease.

Fabrication of Biomedical Scaffolds Using Biodegradable Polymers

“…Conceptual illustration of the typical pathway from identifying the target physiological defects, identifying and selecting suitable material(s), fabricating, and characterizing the scaffold, and applying it to the specific biomedical problem, as well as biomedical application fields, where biodegradable polymer scaffolds will address the clinical problem. Insets: refs ,− . Reproduced with permission from ref .…”

“…Reproduced with permission from ref . Copyright 2020 IOP Publishing, Ltd. Reproduced with permission from refs , . Copyright 2018 and 2019 American Chemical Society.…”

Recent Advances in 3D Printing for Parenteral Applications

“…Drug-eluting stents (DES) can not only physically provide structure to keep the blood vessel open, but also release multiple therapeutics designed to treat post-surgical side effects such as inflammation. Therapeutics can be blended with polymers to create a drug-loaded filament for 3D printing, or coated on the surface of printed stents [ 121 ]. Kim et al developed a 3D printed PCL DES, using a deposition-based 3D printer, to treat recurrent obstructive salivary gland disease, commonly caused by the buildup of salivary stones [ 121 ].…”

“…Therapeutics can be blended with polymers to create a drug-loaded filament for 3D printing, or coated on the surface of printed stents [ 121 ]. Kim et al developed a 3D printed PCL DES, using a deposition-based 3D printer, to treat recurrent obstructive salivary gland disease, commonly caused by the buildup of salivary stones [ 121 ]. The stent shape was derived from CT images to mimic salivary ducts after removal of salivary stones.…”

Development of 3D-Printed Sulfated Chitosan Modified Bioresorbable Stents for Coronary Artery Disease

“…The braided PCL stents showed superior compression properties and recovery ability by incorporating PPDO monofilaments and annealing, but their degradation rates were attenuated under dynamic loading (Zhao et al, 2018(Zhao et al, , 2019. Kim et al (2019) investigated drug-eluting PCL mesh network tubular stent for salivary gland disease. Results showed that their mechanical properties were improved by incorporating antibiotic particles, and a sustained drug release was observed.…”