Targeting Nanostrategies for Imaging of Atherosclerosis

Advances in the treatment of atherosclerosis with ligand-modified nanocarriers

Atherosclerosis, a chronic disease associated with metabolism, poses a significant risk to human well-being. Currently, existing treatments for atherosclerosis lack sufficient efficiency, while the utilization of surface-modified nanoparticles holds the potential to deliver highly effective therapeutic outcomes. These nanoparticles can target and bind to specific receptors that are abnormally over-expressed in atherosclerotic conditions. This paper reviews recent research (2018-present) advances in various ligand-modified nanoparticle systems targeting atherosclerosis by specifically targeting signature molecules in the hope of precise treatment at the molecular level and concludes with a discussion of the challenges and prospects in this field. The intention of this review is to inspire novel concepts for the design and advancement of targeted nanomedicines tailored specifically for the treatment of atherosclerosis.

Design and Fabrication of Environmentally Responsive Nanoparticles for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Atherosclerosis

Cardiovascular disease poses a significant threat to human health in today's society. A major contributor to cardiovascular disease is atherosclerosis (AS). The development of plaque in the affected areas involves a complex pathological environment, and the disease progresses rapidly. Nanotechnology, combined with emerging diagnostic and treatment methods, offers the potential for the management of this condition. This paper presents the latest advancements in environment-intelligent responsive controlled-release nanoparticles designed specifically for the pathological environment of AS, which includes characteristics such as low pH, high reactive oxygen species levels, high shear stress, and multienzymes. Additionally, the paper summarizes the applications and features of nanotechnology in interventional therapy for AS, including percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty and drug-eluting stents. Furthermore, the application of nanotechnology in the diagnosis of AS shows promising real-time, accurate, and continuous effects. Lastly, the paper explores the future prospects of nanotechnology, highlighting the tremendous potential in the diagnosis and treatment of atherosclerotic diseases, especially with the ongoing development in nano gas, quantum dots, and Metal-Organic Frameworks materials.

Detection and Imaging of Active Substances in Early Atherosclerotic Lesions Using Fluorescent Probes

Atherosclerosis (AS) is a vascular disease caused by chronic inflammation and lipids that is the main cause of myocardial infarction, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases. Atherosclerosis is often difficult to detect in its early stages due to the absence of clinically significant vascular stenosis. This is not conducive to early intervention or treatment of the disease. Over the past decade, researchers have developed various imaging methods for the detection and imaging of atherosclerosis. At the same time, more and more biomarkers are being found that can be used as targets for detecting atherosclerosis. Therefore, the development of a variety of imaging methods and a variety of targeted imaging probes is an important project to achieve early assessment and treatment of atherosclerosis. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the optical probes used to detect and target atherosclerosis imaging in recent years, and describes the current challenges and future development directions.

Application of Nanotechnology for Diagnosis and Drug Delivery in Atherosclerosis: A New Horizon of Treatment

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide, with atherosclerosis being a prominent risk factor for their development. The current diagnostic criteria for atherosclerosis rely primarily on imaging techniques, including an angiogram. However, current diagnostic procedures fail to provide insights into the plaque's burden and composition. Therefore, nanotechnology is recommended as a novel drug delivery method in treating atherosclerosis and resulting cardiovascular diseases to enhance clinical outcomes. This review discusses the different approaches in which nanotechnology can be applied in the diagnosis and drug delivery of cardiovascular diseases. A systematic review was carried out in line with the PRISMA reporting guidelines, with the literature databases PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science being screened for relevant literature. Any study that discussed and reported on the application of nanotechnology for either the diagnosis or drug delivery in atherosclerotic patients was included in this review, with each novel design identified in the citations being contrasted to that of the other literature. Moreover, the efficacy of this technology was compared to current diagnostic and drug delivery methods. The search strategy yielded 14 studies relevant to the aims of this review. Nine assessed the therapeutic applications of nanotechnology, 3 solely assessed the diagnostic applications of nanotechnology, and 2 discussed the diagnostic and therapeutic applications. The nanoparticle designs differed significantly between studies; however, all noted a superior therapeutic and diagnostic benefit compared to current approaches to diagnosing and treating atherosclerosis. Multifunctional nanoparticles are a feasible and appropriate novel approach to diagnosing and treating atherosclerosis.

Targeted Imaging in Atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease involved in plaque rupture, stroke, thrombosis, and heart attack (myocardial infarction), which is a leading cause of sudden cardiovascular events. In the past decades, various imaging strategies have been designed and employed for the diagnosis of atherosclerosis. Targeted imaging can accurately distinguish pathological tissues from normal tissues and reliably reveal biological information in the occurrence and development of atherosclerosis. By taking advantage of versatile imaging techniques, rationally designed imaging probes targeting biomarkers overexpressed in plaque microenvironments and targeting activated cells by modifying specific ligands accumulated in lesion regions have attracted increasing attention. This Perspective elucidates comprehensively the targeted imaging strategies, current challenges, and future development directions for precise identification and diagnosis of atherosclerosis, which is beneficial to better understand the physiological and pathological progression and exploit novel imaging strategies.

Update on the Use of PET/MRI Contrast Agents and Tracers in Brain Oncology: A Systematic Review

The recent advancements in hybrid positron emission tomography–magnetic resonance imaging systems (PET/MRI) have brought massive value in the investigation of disease processes, in the development of novel treatments, in the monitoring of both therapy response and disease progression, and, not least, in the introduction of new multidisciplinary molecular imaging approaches. While offering potential advantages over PET/CT, the hybrid PET/MRI proved to improve both the image quality and lesion detectability. In particular, it showed to be an effective tool for the study of metabolic information about lesions and pathological conditions affecting the brain, from a better tumor characterization to the analysis of metabolic brain networks. Based on the PRISMA guidelines, this work presents a systematic review on PET/MRI in basic research and clinical differential diagnosis on brain oncology and neurodegenerative disorders. The analysis includes literature works and clinical case studies, with a specific focus on the use of PET tracers and MRI contrast agents, which are usually employed to perform hybrid PET/MRI studies of brain tumors. A systematic literature search for original diagnostic studies is performed using PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus and Web of Science. Patients, study, and imaging characteristics were extracted from the selected articles. The analysis included acquired data pooling, heterogeneity testing, sensitivity analyses, used tracers, and reported patient outcomes. Our analysis shows that, while PET/MRI for the brain is a promising diagnostic method for early diagnosis, staging and recurrence in patients with brain diseases, a better definition of the role of tracers and imaging agents in both clinical and preclinical hybrid PET/MRI applications is needed and further efforts should be devoted to the standardization of the contrast imaging protocols, also considering the emerging agents and multimodal probes.

Platelet Membrane Biomimetic Nanoparticles Combined With UTMD to Improve the Stability of Atherosclerotic Plaques

Although research on the treatment of atherosclerosis has progressed recently, challenges remain in developing more effective, safer and transformative strategies for the treatment of atherosclerosis. Nanomaterials have recently played a unique role in many fields, including atherosclerosis treatment. Platelets are common component in the blood. Due to their inherent properties, platelets can target and adhere to atherosclerotic plaques. Ultrasound-targeted microbubble destruction (UTMD) shows great prospects in promoting the efficiency of drug delivery in treating solid tumors. In this study, we explored the possibility that UTMD assists platelet biomimetic rapamycin (RAP)-loaded poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (RAP@PLT NPs) in the treatment of atherosclerosis. The biomimetic nano-formulations exhibit better targeting ability to plaques when administered in vivo. Targeted destruction of Sonovue™ in the aortic area further improved the efficiency of targeting plaques. Moreover, the progression of atherosclerotic plaques was inhibited, and the stability of plaques was improved. Together, our study established a novel strategy for targeted delivery of nanoparticles in atherosclerotic plaques, by combining the advantages of the ultrasonic cavitation effect and biomimicking nanoparticles in drug delivery.

Current advances in the imaging of atherosclerotic vulnerable plaque using nanoparticles

Vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques of the artery wall that pose a significant risk of cardio-cerebral vascular accidents remain the global leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Thus, early delineation of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques is of clinical importance for prevention and treatment. The currently available imaging technologies mainly focus on the structural assessment of the vascular wall. Unfortunately, several disadvantages in these strategies limit the improvement in imaging effect. Nanoparticle technology is a novel diagnostic strategy for targeting and imaging pathological biomarkers. New functionalized nanoparticles that detect hallmarks of vulnerable plaques are promising for advance further control of this critical illness. The review aims to address the current opportunities and challenges for the use of nanoparticle technology in imagining vulnerable plaques.

Tuning of Hydrogel Architectures by Ionotropic Gelation in Microfluidics: Beyond Batch Processing to Multimodal Diagnostics

Microfluidics is emerging as a promising tool to control physicochemical properties of nanoparticles and to accelerate clinical translation. Indeed, microfluidic-based techniques offer more advantages in nanomedicine over batch processes, allowing fine-tuning of process parameters. In particular, the use of microfluidics to produce nanoparticles has paved the way for the development of nano-scaled structures for improved detection and treatment of several diseases. Here, ionotropic gelation is implemented in a custom-designed microfluidic chip to produce different nanoarchitectures based on chitosan-hyaluronic acid polymers. The selected biomaterials provide biocompatibility, biodegradability and non-toxic properties to the formulation, making it promising for nanomedicine applications. Furthermore, results show that morphological structures can be tuned through microfluidics by controlling the flow rates. Aside from the nanostructures, the ability to encapsulate gadolinium contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging and a dye for optical imaging is demonstrated. In conclusion, the polymer nanoparticles here designed revealed the dual capability of enhancing the relaxometric properties of gadolinium by attaining Hydrodenticity and serving as a promising nanocarrier for multimodal imaging applications.