What is the clinical evidence from this study?

Study design: Review. Population: Cardiovascular diseases (atherosclerosis, thrombosis, myocardial infarction, ischemic heart). Intervention: Theranostic nanoparticles.

January 1, 2021Open Access

Recent Advances in the Development of Theranostic Nanoparticles for Cardiovascular Diseases

Key Result

Theranostic nanoparticles, combining diagnostic imaging and targeted therapy, demonstrate promising preclinical efficacy for detecting and treating cardiovascular diseases like atherosclerosis and thrombosis.

Structured PICO

Population

Preclinical models of cardiovascular disease, including ApoE knockout mice, cholesterol-fed rabbits, and in vitro macrophage and cell models.

Intervention

Theranostic nanoparticles (e.g., iron oxide, gold, copper sulfide, selenium) combining imaging contrast agents (MRI, CT, fluorescence, photoacoustic) with therapeutic modalities (photothermal ablation, targeted drug delivery).

Theranostic nanoparticles offer a promising preclinical platform for combining non-invasive imaging and targeted therapy in cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis and thrombosis.

Limitations

Current theranostic researches on cardiovascular diseases are still in an immature stage.
Fluorescent agents are unlikely to transfer to clinical trials due to high background fluorescence in the human body.
CT imaging involves radiation exposure, making multiple clinical scans unlikely.
The sensitivity and resolution of photoacoustic imaging still need to be improved.

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide. CVD includes a group of disorders of the heart and blood vessels such as myocardial infarction, ischemic heart, ischemic injury, injured arteries, thrombosis and atherosclerosis. Amongst these, atherosclerosis is the dominant cause of CVD and is an inflammatory disease of the blood vessel wall. Diagnosis and treatment of CVD remain the main challenge due to the complexity of their pathophysiology. To overcome the limitations of current treatment and diagnostic techniques, theranostic nanomaterials have emerged. The term "theranostic nanomaterials" refers to a multifunctional agent with both therapeutic and diagnostic abilities. Theranostic nanoparticles can provide imaging contrast for a diversity of techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT). In addition, they can treat CVD using photothermal ablation and/or medication by the drugs in nanoparticles. This review discusses the latest advances in theranostic nanomaterials for the diagnosis and treatment of CVDs according to the order of disease development. MRI, CT, near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR), and fluorescence are the most widely used strategies on theranostics for CVDs detection. Different treatment methods for CVDs based on theranostic nanoparticles have also been discussed. Moreover, current problems of theranostic nanoparticles for CVDs detection and treatment and future research directions are proposed.

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