An innovative and easily applicable method for the fabrication of radioacti
ve stents, to be used for tile treatment of restenosis, is presented. By in
corporating the beta -emitting radioisotopes Re-186,Re-188 Y-90, or P-32 in
to sulfur-containing adsorbates, it becomes possible to cover a gold surfac
e with a radioactive self-assembled monolayer (SAM). Two methods have been
investigated. In the first, SAMs consisting of potentially radioactive rhen
ium-, yttrium-, and phosphorus-containing adsorbates have been assembled on
2D gold substrates, after which they have been studied by wettability meas
urements, electrochemistry, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The
stability of these SAMs under simulated physiological conditions (phosphat
e buffered saline, PBS solution) for periods up to two months has been demo
nstrated. Alternatively, potentially radioactive monolayers have been prepa
red by exposure of SAMs of mono-, bi-, and tridentate: ligands to a solutio
n containing a radiometal (rhenium) in order to bind the metal to the monol
ayer. The polydentate: ligands exhibit excellent binding capacity, leading
to SAMs containing over 10(-10) mol/cm(2) of the radiometal, which is more
than sufficient to make this system viable for the delivery of therapeutica
l dosages of radiation.