Aspirin is a drug that is broadly used by millions of Americans to treat aching joints, headaches, and prevent heart attacks.
The oldest version of aspirin is the poultice prescribed by Hippocrates in the fifth century BC obtained from the bark of willow trees and myrtle. The modern version of aspirin is PolyAspirin, a plastic version of aspirin that was first synthesized by an undergraduate chemistry student in Uhrich’s lab at Rutgers University and evaluated for periodontal disease treatments. Since that discovery, several other polymer (or plastic) versions of drugs and other bioactives (e.g., antibiotics, antiseptics and anticancer agents) have been invented. Current applications range from PolyAspirin putties for treating periodontal disease, to PolyAspirin-coated stents, to the stents themselves. PolyAspirin-coated devices may be more beneficial to patients because the drug is located exactly where it needs to be – on the device – rather than in the stomach.