Coatings for preventing balloon damage to polymer coated stents

1. A medical assembly comprising:

a stent having a polymer coating and a catheter having a balloon supporting the polymer coated stent, a surface of the balloon being modified so as to provide a lower kinetic coefficient of friction, adhesion, or both, at the polymer coating surface/balloon surface interface as compared to the kinetic coefficient of friction, adhesion, or both, at the polymer coating surface/balloon surface interface of an unmodified surface of the same balloon so as to prevent or minimize coating damage to the polymer coating during expansion, deflation, withdrawal of the balloon, or any combination thereof;

wherein the surface of the balloon is modified with a blocking agent deposited on at least a portion of the balloon surface such that for the balloon about 0.5 μg to about 2 μg of the blocking agent is deposited per 1 mm 2 of the balloon surface; and

wherein the blocking agent is poly(butyleneterephthalate-co-ethylene glycol).

2. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein

the modification of the surface of the balloon is with a polymer layer containing, blended, conjugated, linked or bonded to the blocking agent; or

the balloon comprises or is made from a polymer containing, blended, conjugated, linked or bonded to the blocking agent.

3. The medical assembly of claim 1 , wherein the polymer coating of the stent comprises a drug.

4. The medical assembly of claim 3 , wherein the drug is a member of at least one genus selected from the group consisting of antiproliferative substances, antineoplastic substances, anti-inflammatory substances, antiplatelet substances, anticoagulant substances, antifebrin substances, antithrombin substances, antimitotic substances, antibiotic substances, antiallergic substances, and antioxidant substances.

5. The medical assembly of claim 3 , wherein the drug is clobetasol, estradiol, dexamethasone, paclitaxel, rapamycin, everolimus, 40-O-(3-hydroxy)propyl-rapamycin, 40-O-[2-(2-hydroxy)ethoxy]ethyl-rapamycin, 40-O-tetrazole-rapamycin, or any combination thereof.

6. A medical assembly comprising:

a stent having a polymer coating and a catheter having a balloon supporting the polymer coated stent, a surface of the balloon being modified so as to provide a lower kinetic coefficient of friction, adhesion, or both, at the polymer coating surface/balloon surface interface as compared to the kinetic coefficient of friction, adhesion, or both, at the polymer coating surface/balloon surface interface of an unmodified surface of the same balloon so as to prevent or minimize coating damage to the polymer coating during expansion, deflation, withdrawal of the balloon, or any combination thereof;

wherein the surface of the balloon is modified with a blocking agent deposited on at least a portion of the balloon surface such that about 0.5 μg to about 2 μg of the blocking agent is deposited per 1 mm 2 of the balloon surface; and

wherein the blocking agent is selected from the group consisting of glucose, sucrose, dextrose, maltose, mannose, trehalose, and combinations thereof.

7. The medical assembly of claim 6 , wherein the blocking agent is glucose.

8. The medical assembly of claim 6 , wherein the blocking agent is sucrose.

9. The medical assembly of claim 6 , wherein the blocking agent is dextrose.

10. The medical assembly of claim 6 , wherein the blocking agent is maltose.

11. The medical assembly of claim 6 , wherein the blocking agent is mannose.

12. The medical assembly of claim 6 , wherein the blocking agent is trehalose.

13. The medical assembly of claim 6 , wherein the polymer coating of the stent comprises a drug.

14. The medical assembly of claim 13 , wherein the drug is a member of at least one genus selected from the group consisting of antiproliferative substances, antineoplastic substances, anti-inflammatory substances, antiplatelet substances, anticoagulant substances, antifebrin substances, antithrombin substances, antimitotic substances, antibiotic substances, antiallergic substances, and antioxidant substances.

15. The medical assembly of claim 13 , wherein the drug is clobetasol, estradiol, dexamethasone, paclitaxel, rapamycin, everolimus, 40-O-(3-hydroxy)propyl-rapamycin, 40-O-[2-(2-hydroxy)ethoxy]ethyl-rapamycin, 40-O-tetrazole-rapamycin, or any combination thereof.