Fabrication of PCL/PLA Composite Tube for Stent Manufacturing

This work presents the effect of Dip Coating process over the tube's features to obtain a PCL/PLA tube to stent purpose. The effects of withdrawal speed, number of cycles, and solutions concentration were studied. Four different tubes were fabricated and analyzed by Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA), Degradation Rate, Surface Roughness, Thickness, and Uniformity. Results have shown the strong influence of withdrawal speed and polymer's concentration over the tube's features. DMA and degradation results showed the limitations of PCL and PLA as material for the stent purpose, meanwhile the PCL/PLA composite tube showed a behavior closer to the stents requirements.