Synergetic coordination and catecholamine chemistry for catalytic generation of nitric oxide on vascular stents

Abstract The unique advantages of nitric oxide (NO) in cardiovascular disease therapy have driven the development of methods to functionalize cardiovascular stents for local generation of NO. However, current NO-generating materials used for surface engineering stents have limitations such as a complex fabrication process, poor stent adhesion strength, and low control of NO release. Herein, we apply synergetic coordination and catecholamine surface chemistry to develop an adhesive NO-generating coating with a copper-catecholamine framework through a simple, one-step molecule/ion co-assembly process. The copper-catecholic-selenocystamine framework provides glutathione peroxidase (GPx)-like interfacial catalytic activity, which results in long-term, stable, adjustable NO release rates from the coating. The resulting desirable therapeutic dose and release kinetics of NO endow the vascular stent with the ability to simultaneously inhibit platelet activation and smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation, and enhances endothelial cell (EC) adhesion, proliferation, and migration in vitro. Vascular stent functionalized by the optimized copper-catecholic-selenocystamine coating significantly suppresses thrombosis, promotes re-endothelialization, and reduces intimal hyperplasia in vivo, and may be promising to address the clinical complications associated with restenosis and late stent thrombosis.