Arterial pharmacokinetics of red wine polyphenols: implications for novel endovascular therapies targeting restenosis.

Drug-eluting stents (DESs) are endovascular devices that provide controlled release of compounds to interfere with restenosis, an adverse outcome of angioplasty characterized by thickening of the arterial wall. Accumulating evidence suggests that arterial pharmacokinetics determine the biological effect and potential toxicity of stent-based therapeutics. The aim of this study was to examine how drug polarity, drug load, and protein binding influence release from a polymer film and distribution within arterial tissue.