Patent ID: 8394446

Claim:
A method of fabricating a polymeric stent comprising: forming a polymeric tube, or providing a polymeric tube; cutting a stent pattern into the tube to form a polymeric stent; exposing the polymeric stent or the polymeric tube to a fluid comprising an antioxidant; wherein the exposure of the polymeric stent or the polymeric tube to the fluid comprising the antioxidant results in incorporation of some of the antioxidant onto the polymeric stent or polymeric tube; forming a coating comprising a drug and a second polymer on the stent; and heating the coated stent for about 45 minutes to about 75 minutes at a temperature of about 35° C. to about 60° C. in a gas comprising a second antioxidant which may be the same as or different from the antioxidant in the fluid to which the polymeric stent or the polymeric tube has been previously exposed; wherein some of the second antioxidant is incorporated into the coating of the stent, and optionally into the stent.