How does drug crystal shape and size influence drug transfer and retention in arterial tissue?

Drug-eluting stents (DES) and drug-coated balloons (DCB) are used to treat patients with obstructive coronary artery disease. Despite intense research over the past two decades, these devices still lead to complications in many patients. One aspect of these devices that has yet to be fully optimised is

drug delivery. While much attention has been placed on the drug type and polymer carrier, less research has been devoted to the state and morphology of the drug particles themselves. This is important since, for a drug to exert its biological effect when placed in the body, it must first dissolve (dissolution) and diffuse to the site of action in the body. The dissolution process is known to be

dependent on the solid state of the drug (e.g. crystalline or amorphous) and the size and geometry of the individual particles. Despite dissolution being a topic of interest for well over a century, other than qualitative understanding (for example, larger surface area leads to faster dissolution) surprisingly little is known about how these aspects influence the dissolution process, form a

quantitative point of view. Mathematical and computational tools that are able to address this question could help optimise drug delivery, leading to improved health outcomes for patients.