Cardiovascular therapy through nanotechnology – how far are we still from bedside?

Abstract

Abstract:Recent years brought about a widespread interest in the potential applications of nanotechnology for the diagnostics and the therapy of human diseases. With its promise of disease-targeted, patient-tailored treatment and reduced side effects, nanomedicine brings hope for millions of patients suffering of non-communicable diseases such as cancer or cardiovascular disorders. However, the emergence of the complex, multicomponent products based on new technologies poses multiple challenges to successful approval in clinical practice. Regulatory and development considerations, including properties of the components, reproducible manufacturing and appropriate characterization methods, as well as nanodrugs' safety and efficacy are critical for rapid marketing of the new products. This review discusses the recent advances in cardiovascular applications of nanotechnologies and highlights the challenges that must be overcome in order to fill the gap existing between the promising bench trials and the successful bedside applications.

Nanoparticles for Intravascular Applications: Physicochemical Characterization and Cytotoxicity Testing

“…But in spite of the promising results obtained in the vast number of bench investigations that have been published in the recent years [4], no specific nanoparticle-based system has been approved for diagnosis or therapy of atherosclerosis in humans. The reasons for that are mainly the safety requirements related to nanoparticulate medicines, the lacking regulatory guidelines and insufficient standardization in the matters of particle characterization and nanotoxicity testing.…”

“…By coating nanoparticles with plaque-specific ligands, significantly increased accumulation of these agents at the sites of atherosclerotic lesions could be achieved, leading to improved detection and characterization of the plaques [4]. Furthermore, the treatment outcome can be dramatically improved if the drug-carrying nanoparticles were directly targeted at the diseased artery region, thus reducing the systemic side effects [5].…”

Nanomedicine for the molecular diagnosis of cardiovascular pathologies

“…They have been shown to be spontaneously phagocytized by macrophages enabling to detect inflammatory-like processes expressed in atherosclerotic lesions. Pilot studies using iron oxide based nanoparticles were recently reviewed in detail by Cicha et al [41]. Three types of particles were already tested in clinic.…”

Endothelial biocompatibility and accumulation of SPION under flow conditions

“…The idea is to link SPIONs with anti-atherosclerotic drugs and then accumulate these magnetic drug carriers at the site of atherosclerotic lesion. The amount of pharmacological agents needed for sufficient treatment could be dramatically reduced if the drugcarrying nanoparticles are directly targeted at the plaque, which would decrease the systemic side effects and improve the treatment outcome reviews [8,9]. However, for this purpose, a substantial amount of preclinical studies is necessary to analyze the biological effects of magnetic nanoparticles on the vascular wall.…”