Organic Nanoparticles in Progressing Cardiovascular Disease Treatment and Diagnosis

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), the world's most prominent cause of mortality, continue to be challenging conditions for patients, physicians, and researchers alike. CVDs comprise a wide range of illnesses affecting the heart, blood vessels, and the blood that flows through and between them. Advances in nanomedicine, a discipline focused on improving patient outcomes through revolutionary treatments, imaging agents, and ex vivo diagnostics, have created enthusiasm for overcoming limitations in CVDs' therapeutic and diagnostic landscapes. Nanomedicine can be involved in clinical purposes for CVD through the augmentation of cardiac or heart-related biomaterials, which can be functionally, mechanically, immunologically, and electrically improved by incorporating nanomaterials; vasculature applications, which involve systemically injected nanotherapeutics and imaging nanodiagnostics, nano-enabled biomaterials, or tissue-nanoengineered solutions; and enhancement of sensitivity and/or specificity of ex vivo diagnostic devices for patient samples. Therefore, this review discusses the latest studies based on applying organic nanoparticles in cardiovascular illness, including drug-conjugated polymers, lipid nanoparticles, and micelles. Following the revised information, it can be concluded that organic nanoparticles may be the most appropriate type of treatment for cardiovascular diseases due to their biocompatibility and capacity to integrate various drugs.

Keywords: cardiovascular diseases; dendrimers; liposomes; micelles; nanomedicine; organic nanoparticles; polymeric nanoparticles.

Figure 1

Diagrammatic illustration of the pathophysiological processes behind ischemic heart disease. Abbreviations: CAD: coronary artery disease; AMI: acute myocardial infarction; PCI: percutaneous coronary intervention; TNFα: tumor necrosis factor alpha; CRP: C-reactive protein; IL-6R: interleukin-6 receptor; SARS-CoV-2: severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; RAAS: renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system; MINOCA: myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries; INOCA: ischemia with non-obstructive coronary arteries; H₂O₂: hydrogen peroxide; K_ATP: ATP-sensitive potassium channel; K_v: voltage-gated potassium channel; Na_v: voltage-gated sodium channel; LOX-1: oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor 1; Ox-LDL: oxidized low-density lipoprotein; ROS: reactive oxygen species; NO: nitric oxide; Symbols: ↑: increase; ↓: decrease. Reprinted from an open-access source [8].

Figure 2

Types of organic nanoparticles (NPs) that are frequently employed in biomedical applications. Adapted from open-access sources [19,27].