Atomic Force Microscopy Wear Characterization for Metallic Stent Polymer Coatings

Abstract

Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) has become established as a powerful and a versatile tool for investigating local mechanical properties. In addition, it has been made possible to take advantage of the AFM tip-sample interaction, to perturb, and I turn, to modify the surface of soft samples, such as polymers. The accurate knowledge of their response to the continuous AFM scanning could help to design new materials having desirable mechanical properties. In this paper, we present the results obtained applying a new methodology to investigate wear properties on two different type of polymers, such as poly(methyl methacrylate (PMMA) and poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA). These polymers have been widely employed in biomedical applications and have recently been considered as good candidates for coronary metallic stent coatings.