  Coronary stents have changed the way in which coronary artery diseases are
managed. Although bare-metal stents can be traced back to 1994, long term
efficacy of these stents has been shattered by ISR (In-Stent restenosis) and
late stent thrombosis. Research on finding a solution to these issues has led
to the development of DESs (Drug eluting stents). However long term
effectiveness of DESs and various drug delivery systems have raised concerns.
Also current DESs does not have the capability to adjust the drug dose or
release kinetics that corresponds to the diseased status of the affected
vessel. Through the use of a drug delivery system which employs controlled drug
release, it may be possible to control the release rate of the pharmacological
drugs or substances of interest, and therefore one might be able to circumvent
the range of events that leads to ISR, thus preventing the need for further
invasive interventions. To overcome the limitations of drug delivery systems,
the administration of drugs using nanoparticle based microcapsules as carriers
is being researched for their ability to facilitate a sustained, prolonged and
controlled release of drugs. But still much research is needed to evaluate and
fix issues relating toxicity, chemical and mechanical properties of the
nanoparticles. This project combines a range of nanobiotechnological techniques
to synthesise nano-components which are finally assembled together to get the
microcapsules which could be used in drug delivery systems. The microcapsules
were engineered keeping in mind their potential use in an ultrasound based drug
delivery system.
