POLYMER-ENCAPSULATED DRUG PARTICLES

1 . A method of treating a digestive disease, the method comprising:

providing a balloon catheter into a target site in a body lumen, wherein the body lumen is an esophagus, colon, biliary tract, stomach, small intestine, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, rectum, or large intestine, wherein the target site is at, proximate to, proximal to, or distal to a site of the digestive disease, wherein the balloon catheter comprises

an elongated balloon, and

a coating layer overlying an exterior surface of the balloon, wherein the coating layer comprises one or more additives and an initial drug load of a therapeutic agent;

inflating the balloon at the target site to contact the coating layer with walls of the body lumen at the target site;

deflating the balloon; and

removing the balloon catheter from the target site;

wherein the digestive disease is Barrett's disease, eosinophilic esophagitis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), or a combination thereof, and wherein the method alleviates or eliminates symptoms of the digestive disease.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a surgical procedure is performed at the target site prior to the providing of the balloon catheter at the target site.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the surgical procedure comprises an incision, an electroincision, a laser incision, a stricturotomy, a resection, an atherectomy, a needle knife electroincision, an episiotomy, an endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR), an endoscopic sub-mucosal dissection (ESD), or a combination thereof.

4 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising performing the surgical procedure.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the disease is Barrett's disease, eosinophilic esophagitis, or a combination thereof, and wherein the body lumen is an esophagus.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the disease is Crohn's disease ulcerative colitis, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), or a combination thereof, wherein the body lumen is a colon, biliary tract, stomach, small intestine, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, rectum, or large intestine.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the coating layer is soaked or flushed with a solution comprising water or saline prior to the inflating.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the coating layer is soaked in a solution comprising water or saline prior to insertion of the balloon catheter into the body.

9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising flushing the body lumen before or during inflation with a solution comprising water or saline such that the coating layer is hydrated with the solution.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein at the time of providing the balloon catheter at the target site, the target site is free of strictures or stenoses.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein at the time of providing the balloon catheter at the target site, the target site comprises a stricture or stenosis.

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more additives in the coating layer comprise N-acetylglucosamine, N-octyl-D-gluconamide, N-nonanoyl-N-methylglycamine, N-octanoyl-N-methyl glutamine, C6-ceramide, dihydro-C6-ceramide, cerabroside, sphingomyelin, galaclocerebrosides, lactocerebrosides, N-acetyl-D-sphingosine, N-hexanoyl-D-sphingosine, N-octonoyl-D-sphingosine, N-lauroyl-D-sphingosine, N-palmitoyl-D-sphingosine, N-oleoyl-D-sphingosine, PEG caprylic/capric diglycerides, PEG8 caprylic/capric glycerides, PEG caprylate, PEG8 caprylate, PEG caprate, PEG caproate, glyceryl monocaprylate, glyceryl monocaprate, glyceryl monocaproate, monolaurin, monocaprin, monocaprylin, monomyristin, monopalmitolein, monoolein, creatine, creatinine, agmatine, citrulline, guanidine, sucralose, aspartame, hypoxanthine, theobromine, theophylline, adenine, uracil, uridine, guanine, thymine, thymidine, xanthine, xanthosine, xanthosine monophosphate, caffeine, allantoin, (2-hydroxyethyl)urea, N,N′-bis(hydroxymethyl)urea, pentaerythritol propoxylate, pentaerythritol propoxylate/ethoxylate, glycerol ethoxylate, glycerol propoxylate, trimethylolpropane ethoxylate, pentaerythritol, dipentaerythritol, crown ether, 18-crown-6, 15-crown-5, 12-crown-4, or combinations thereof.

13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more additives in the coating layer comprises pentaerythritol ethoxylate (15/4), pentaerythritol ethoxylate (3/4), or a combination thereof.

14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the therapeutic agent comprises paclitaxel, a paclitaxel analogue, docetaxel, a docetaxel analogue, taxol, a taxol analogue, rapamycin, a rapamycin analogue, sirolimus, a sirolimus analogue, everolimus, an everolimus analogue, tacrolimus, a tacrolimus analogue, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors, an mTOR inhibitor analogue, or a combination thereof.

15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the therapeutic agent comprises paclitaxel.

16 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing a scope in the body lumen.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the balloon catheter is loaded into the scope, or wherein the balloon catheter and the scope are positioned side-by-side.

18 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the inflation of the balloon to contact the coating layer with the walls of the body lumen is visualizable via the scope.

19 . A method of treating a digestive disease, the method comprising:

providing a balloon catheter into a target site in a body lumen, wherein the body lumen is an esophagus, wherein the target site is at, proximate to, proximal to, or distal to a site of the digestive disease, wherein the balloon catheter comprises

an elongated balloon, and

a coating layer overlying an exterior surface of the balloon, wherein the coating layer comprises one or more additives and an initial drug load of a therapeutic agent;

inflating the balloon at the target site to contact the coating layer with walls of the body lumen at the target site;

deflating the balloon; and

removing the balloon catheter from the target site;

wherein a surgical procedure is performed at the target site prior to the providing of the balloon catheter at the target site, wherein the surgical procedure comprises an incision, an electroincision, a laser incision, a stricturotomy, a resection, an atherectomy, a needle knife electroincision, an episiotomy, an endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR), an endoscopic sub-mucosal dissection (ESD), or a combination thereof; and

wherein the digestive disease is Barrett's disease, eosinophilic esophagitis, or a combination thereof, and wherein the method alleviates or eliminates symptoms of the digestive disease.

20 . A method of treating a digestive disease, the method comprising:

providing a balloon catheter into a target site in a body lumen, wherein the body lumen is a colon, biliary tract, stomach, small intestine, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, rectum, or large intestine, wherein the target site is at, proximate to, proximal to, or distal to a site of the digestive disease, wherein the balloon catheter comprises

an elongated balloon, and

a coating layer overlying an exterior surface of the balloon, wherein the coating layer comprises one or more additives and an initial drug load of a therapeutic agent;

inflating the balloon at the target site to contact the coating layer with walls of the body lumen at the target site;

deflating the balloon; and

removing the balloon catheter from the target site;

wherein a surgical procedure is performed at the target site prior to the providing of the balloon catheter at the target site, wherein the surgical procedure comprises an incision, an electroincision, a laser incision, a stricturotomy, a resection, an atherectomy, a needle knife electroincision, an episiotomy, an endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR), an endoscopic sub-mucosal dissection (ESD), or a combination thereof; and

wherein the digestive disease is Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), or a combination thereof, and wherein the method alleviates or eliminates symptoms of the digestive disease.