Patent ID: 8828474

Claim:
A method of loading a therapeutic substance within a hollow stent, the method comprising the steps of: filling a lumenal space of a hollow wire that forms the hollow stent full of a solution of a therapeutic substance and a first liquid solvent; precipitating the therapeutic substance out of solution within the lumenal space of the hollow wire by adding a second precipitator liquid solvent to the lumenal space, wherein the second precipitator liquid solvent does not dissolve the therapeutic substance, is miscible with the first liquid solvent, and is capable of forming a positive azeotrope with the first liquid solvent; continuing to add the second precipitator liquid solvent to the lumenal space of the hollow wire until the first liquid solvent and the second precipitator liquid solvent reach their azeotrope point, wherein the first liquid solvent and the second precipitator liquid solvent form a positive azeotrope; and utilizing vacuum oven drying to extract all of the first liquid solvent and the second precipitator liquid solvent from the lumenal space of the hollow wire by controlling temperature and pressure within a vacuum oven such that the positive azeotrope formed between the first liquid solvent and the second precipitator liquid solvent becomes volatile and goes into a gaseous phase to be extracted while the precipitated therapeutic substance remains within the lumenal space such that the hollow stent is thereby loaded with the therapeutic substance for subsequent delivery within a body lumen.