MEDICAL APPLICATION
Balloon Catheter & Guidewire Coating
MicroSpray ultrasonic coating for balloon catheters, guidewires, and other minimally invasive devices — uniform drug, lubricious, and hydrophilic coatings with selective-area placement and minimal waste of expensive materials.
The Challenge
Balloon catheters and guidewires demand coatings that are both uniform and precisely placed. A drug-coated balloon has one chance to work: the entire drug dose must transfer to the vessel wall in a 30–60 second inflation, which demands a highly uniform drug/excipient film across a folded, flexible, cylindrical surface. Guidewires must navigate tortuous anatomical pathways with minimal friction, but traditional coating methods produce uneven hydrophilic layers that pool, bridge, or create surface defects on straight shafts, tapered segments, and coiled tips. Dip and pipette methods coat the entire device end to end, waste expensive APIs and reagents, and can't keep bonding points and assembly zones coating-free.
Our Solution
MicroSpray ultrasonic nozzles deposit coating solutions as a soft, low-velocity mist onto the rotating device, building the target film in precise, repeatable passes. On drug-coated balloons, fine droplets follow the surface into fold geometry without webbing or bridging, reaching target drug densities (typically 2–3.5 µg/mm²) while preserving the film's micro-morphology. On guidewires, the non-contact, airless system applies thin hydrophilic coatings that activate upon hydration, with conformal coverage across intricate wire geometries. Over 90% transfer efficiency keeps expensive paclitaxel, sirolimus, and hydrophilic formulations on the device instead of in the exhaust.
MicroSpray Focus™ — Selective-Area Ultrasonic Coating for Catheters and Minimally Invasive Devices
The MicroSpray Focus™ is a fully enclosed benchtop system built for laboratory R&D, coating process development, and specialty catheter manufacturing — engineered for engineers who need selective-area control, not just an entire catheter run through a tank. Using ultrasonic spray technology, it gives precise control over coating thickness and selective-area placement for lubricious, hydrophilic, and other functional coatings.
Coat Only Where It Matters
Unlike conventional dip coating, which coats a catheter end to end, the MicroSpray Focus™ applies highly uniform coatings only where they're needed — with repeatable, part-to-part results. That makes it a practical fit for prototype development, clinical builds, specialty medical devices, and lower-volume manufacturing, where coating placement matters as much as coating quality.
Built for Minimally Invasive Devices
Whether you're coating vascular catheters, balloon catheters, guidewires, specialty tubing, or other minimally invasive devices, the MicroSpray Focus™ delivers the process control that's difficult to reach with conventional dip coating methods.
Built for a Problem Dip Coating Can't Solve
Modern catheter designs often need functional coatings on specific sections only — while other regions, such as bonding points, assembly zones, and flexible segments, have to stay uncoated. Conventional dip coating applies to the whole device, so masking or secondary processing is usually required to remove coating from areas where it shouldn't be. The MicroSpray Focus™ was built specifically for this.
Why Ultrasonic Spray?
- ✓Selective-area placement — coat only where it matters, no masking or secondary processing
- ✓Uniform drug density along the full balloon working length
- ✓Repeatable dose and film thickness from device to device — supports regulatory submissions
- ✓Gentle low-velocity mist preserves coating integrity on folded balloons
- ✓Uniform micrometer-scale hydrophilic layers that activate upon hydration
- ✓Conformal coverage on straight shafts, tapered segments, and coiled tips
- ✓Over 90% transfer efficiency minimizes waste of expensive APIs and hydrophilic reagents
- ✓Multi-layer capability for primers, APIs, and topcoats
- ✓Reduced friction lowers insertion forces and protects the endothelium
- ✓Handles coronary and peripheral balloon sizes on the same platform
Supporting Research
Peer-reviewed publications and technical literature relevant to this application area. Links open the publisher's site.
- Evaluation of Ultrasonic Spray Method for Application of Sirolimus-Eluting Coating on Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffolds
Jelonek et al.
International Journal of Molecular Sciences ·
Open access · no paywall
- A multifunctional osteogenic system of ultrasonically spray deposited bone-active coatings on plasma-activated magnesium
Fang et al.
Journal of Magnesium and Alloys ·
Open access · no paywall
- Development of Dual Drug Eluting Cardiovascular Stent with Ultrasonic Spray Coating
Roopmani et al.
ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering ·
Recommended Equipment
Focused Nozzle
Precision focal point for uniform films on small-diameter balloons and fine wire geometries
View details →MicroStream™ Nozzle
Ultra-narrow stream tracks the rotating device for tight dose control and conformal coverage
View details →Developing a balloon catheter or guidewire coating process? Contact us about selective-area coating feasibility and dose uniformity.
Let's discuss your specific coating requirements.