Patent ID: 7945319

Claim:
A method for local delivery of a drug, comprising the acts of: (a) implanting a medical device comprising a drug-containing coating in a patient for the delivery of the drug, wherein the coating comprises a drug reservoir layer applied over at least a portion of the medical device surface, the drug reservoir layer comprising the drug and a polymer, and a topcoat applied over the drug reservoir layer, the topcoat comprising an organic or an elemento-organic substance, the organic or elemento-organic substance capable of forming a self-assembled molecular structure; and (b) applying an electric current for an interval of time to the topcoat to cause the substance of the topcoat to transform from a crystalline structure to a more amorphous and less crystalline structure so as to increase the rate of release of the drug during the time interval, wherein after the electric current is terminated, the crystallinity of the substance of the topcoat returns back to essentially the same degree of crystallinity or a more crystalline structure than that which existed before the substance of the topcoat was exposed to the current; wherein the substance of the topcoat is a compound of a formula comprising a methylene-based chain and at least one reactive functional group.