Functionalized CoCr surfaces with adhesive molecules to improve endothelialization

.................................................................................................................................... II Resumen ................................................................................................................................... IV General Objectives ................................................................................................................ VI Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................. VIII List of publications .................................................................................................................. X Conference contributions .................................................................................................... XI Scholarships ............................................................................................................................ XII Glossary of terms ................................................................................................................. XIII 1 Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Paper I (Chapter 3) ................................................................................................. 3 1.2 Paper II (Chapter 4) ............................................................................................... 4 1.3 Paper III (Chapter 5) .............................................................................................. 5 2 Chapter 2: Literature Review ....................................................................................... 6 2.1 Vascular diseases ................................................................................................... 8 2.2 Biomaterials for BMS .......................................................................................... 10 Stainless Steel ................................................................................................................ 11 Ni-Ti alloy (Nitinol) ........................................................................................................ 11 CoCr alloys ..................................................................................................................... 11 Current stent technology ............................................................................................ 12 2.3 Biological mechanisms ........................................................................................ 13 2.3.1 Artery structure and healthy endothelium ............................................. 13 2.3.2 Endothelial dysfunction .............................................................................. 17 Restenosis ...................................................................................................................... 17 Thrombosis ..................................................................................................................... 18 2.3.3 Consequences of stents implantation ..................................................... 18 In-stent restenosis (ISR) ............................................................................................... 18 Stent thrombosis (ST) .................................................................................................. 19