RESEARCH ARTICLE Biodegradable AZ91 magnesium alloy/sirolimus/poly D, L-lactic-co-glycolic acid-based substrate for cardiovascular device application Monalisha Mohanta | Yugesh Ramdhun | Arunachalam Thirugnanam | Ritvesh Gupta | Devendra Verma | Thirumalai Deepak | Anju R. Babu Department of Biotechnology and Medical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Rourkela, Rourkela, Odisha, India Correspondence Arunachalam Thirugnanam Room No. 206, Department of Biotechnology & Medical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Rourkela, Rourkela, Odisha 769008, India. Email: thirugnanam.a@nitrkl.ac.in Abstract Biodegradable drug-eluting stents (DESs) are gaining importance owing to their attractive features, such as complete drug release to the target site. Magnesium (Mg) alloys are promising materials for future biodegradable DESs. However, there are few explorations using biodegradable Mg for cardiovascular stent application. In this present study, sirolimus-loaded poly D, L-lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA)-coated/ sirolimus-fixed/AZ91 Mg alloy-based substrate was developed via a layer-by-layer approach for cardiovascular stent application. The AZ91 Mg alloy was prepared through the squeeze casting technique. The casted AZ91 Mg alloy (Mg) was alkali- treated to provide macroporous networks to hold the sirolimus and PLGA layers. The systematic characterization was investigated via electrochemical, optical, physico- chemical, and in-vitro biological characteristics. The presence of the Mg 17 Al 12 phase in the Mg sample was found in the x-ray diffraction system (XRD) spectrum which influences the corrosion behavior of the developed substrate. The alkali treatment increases the substrate's hydrophilicity which was confirmed through static contact angle measurement. The anti-corrosion characteristic of casted-AZ91 Mg alloy (Mg) was slightly less than the sirolimus-loaded PLGA-coated alkali-treated AZ91 Mg alloy (Mg/Na/S/P) substrate. However, dissolution rates for both substrates were found to be controlled at cell culture conditions. Radiographic densities of AZ91 Mg alloy substrates (Mg, Mg/Na, and Mg/Na/S/P) were measured to be 0.795 ± 0.015, 0.742 ± 0.01, and 0.712 ± 0.017, respectively. The star-shaped structure of 12% siro- limus/PLGA ensures the bioavailability of the drugs. Sirolimus release kinetic was fitted up to 80% with the “Higuchi model” for Mg samples, whereas Mg/Na/S/P showed 45% fitting with a zero-order mechanism. The Mg/Na/S/P substrate showed a 70% antithrombotic effect compared to control. Further, alkali treatment enhances the antibacterial characteristic of AZ91 Mg alloy. Also, the alkali-treated sirolimus- loaded substrates (Mg/Na/S and Mg/Na/S/P) inhibit the valvular interstitial cell's growth significantly in in-vitro. Hence, the results imply that sirolimus-loaded PLGA- coated AZ91 Mg alloy-based substrate can be a potential candidate for cardiovascu- lar stent application. Received: 6 May 2023 Revised: 26 September 2023 Accepted: 30 October 2023 DOI: 10.1002/jbm.b.35350 J Biomed Mater Res. 2023;1–21. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jbmb © 2023 Wiley Periodicals LLC. 1