METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR COATING A MEDICAL DEVICE BY ELECTROPLATING

摘要

Methods and apparatuses for coating surfaces of medical devices by electroplating are disclosed. In one embodiment, the invention includes a coating method in which a mixture of a therapeutic agent, and a plating material are electroplated onto the surface of the medical device. The electroplating method may be performed at a relatively low temperature to avoid destruction of the therapeutic agent. In another embodiment, a coating method is disclosed in which the coating is formed by suspending a therapeutic agent in an electrolytic solution and electroplating a plating material onto the medical device wherein the plating material carries the supended therapeutic agent. Thus, the coating of plating material contains the suspended therapeutic agent. These methods and apparatuses are used to apply one or more coating materials, simultaneously or in sequence by varying the electroplating voltage. In certain embodiments of the invention, the coating materials include therapeutic agents and cationic drugs.