Recent Advances in Managing Atherosclerosis via Nanomedicine

Abstract

Atherosclerosis, driven by chronic inflammation of the arteries and lipid accumulation on the blood vessel wall, underpins many cardiovascular diseases with high mortality rates globally, such as stroke and ischemic heart disease. Engineered bio-nanomaterials are now under active investigation as carriers of therapeutic and/or imaging agents to atherosclerotic plaques. This Review summarizes the latest bio-nanomaterial-based strategies for managing atherosclerosis published over the past five years, a period marked by a rapid surge in preclinical applications of bio-nanomaterials for imaging and/or treating atherosclerosis. To start, the biomarkers exploited by emerging bio-nanomaterials for targeting various components of atherosclerotic plaques are outlined. In addition, recent efforts to rationally design and screen for bio-nanomaterials with the optimal physicochemical properties for targeting plaques are presented. Moreover, the latest preclinical applications of bio-nanomaterials as carriers of imaging, therapeutic, or theranostic agents to atherosclerotic plaques are discussed. Finally, a mechanistic understanding of the interactions between bio-nanomaterials and the plaque ("athero-nano" interactions) is suggested, the opportunities and challenges in the clinical translation of bio-nanomaterials for managing atherosclerosis are discussed, and recent clinical trials for atherosclerotic nanomedicines are introduced.

Lipid‐based gene delivery to macrophage mitochondria for atherosclerosis therapy

“…Several novel techniques, including nanoparticle (NP) target therapy, drug delivery, nanovisualization, have been introduced and are being tested. As atherosclerosis is a multifactorial disease, there are number of possible targets for nanomedical methods in the atherosclerotic plaque: extracellular matrix, endothelial cells, and macrophages 40 . Macrophages are considered to be a promising target mainly due to the possibility of effective NP targeting 10 .…”

Nanoengineering of Gold Nanoparticles: Green Synthesis, Characterization, and Applications

“…Atherosclerosis is characterized by chronic inflammation of the arteries and lipid accumulation in the blood vessel walls. This behavior causes many cardiovascular diseases [215]. For example, 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) AuNPs functionalized with PEG (ALA-AuNPs-PEG) were synthesized and administered to rabbits to evaluate their use in clinical practice as therapeutic agents for atherosclerosis [216].…”

A PEG-PLGA-based polymeric capsule as theranostic nanoplatform for active targeting atherosclerosis

“…There are generally no symptoms in the early stages of atherosclerosis and traditional detection techniques cannot easily, safely, and effectively detect the lesions in the early stages [8,9] . In recent years, there has been a rapid development in using nano-carrier technique as a tool for molecular imaging of atherosclerotic lesion [10][11][12] . By incorporating peptides, antibodies, or other ligands on its surface, a nanocarrier can target adhesion molecules in lesion components.…”