New Nanoparticles Target Cardiovascular Disease
Researchers at BWH and MIT have built targeted nanoparticles that can cling to artery walls and slowly release medicine, an advance that potentially provides an alternative to drug-releasing stents in some patients with cardiovascular disease.
The particles, dubbed “nanoburrs,” are coated with tiny protein fragments that allow them to stick to target proteins, and they can be designed to release their drug payload over several days. They are one of the first such targeted particles that can precisely home in on damaged vascular tissue, according to Omid Farokhzad, MD, director of the Laboratory of Nanomedicine and Biomaterials at BWH and an author of a paper describing the nanoparticles in the Jan. 18 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Farokhzad and MIT Institute professor Robert Langer, also an author of the paper, have previously developed nanoparticles that seek out and destroy tumors.
The researchers hope the particles could become a complementary approach that can be used with vascular stents, which are the standard of care for most cases of clogged and damaged arteries, or in lieu of stents in areas not well suited to them, such as near a fork in the artery.
“This technology could have broad applications across other important diseases, including cancer and inflammatory diseases where vascular permeability or vascular damage is commonly observed,” said Farokhzad.