Patent ID: 8372332

Claim:
A method of making a stent comprising: forming a polymeric tube comprising nucleating agent particles dispersed within the polymer, wherein the nucleating agent particles comprise insoluble particles which provide nuclei for heterogeneous crystallization to increase nucleation density, wherein crystal growth is minimized or prevented during formation of the tube so that the polymer of the formed tube has a crystallinity of less than 5%; annealing the polymeric tube at a temperature in a temperature range of above Tg and below Tm with no crystal growth during a selected annealing time of greater than 1 hr; after annealing, inducing and allowing crystal growth around the nucleating agent particles dispersed within the polymeric tube to obtain a desired crystallinity, wherein the crystal growth is induced by radially deforming the polymer tube to provide circumferential orientation in the polymeric tube; and fabricating a stent from the tube after the crystal growth.