ABSTRACT
Nanoparticle technology offers promising strategies to deliver therapeutics and imaging probes to aid in the treatment of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Advancements in the development of nanoparticles, their design parameters, and functional versatility have enabled their practical application in preclinical CVD research, with substantial efforts being made to address treatment options for myocardial infarction (MI). Through rational design of nanoparticles, nanocarrier systems can be fabricated to facilitate efficient cell-, tissue-, or disease-specific and targeted actions, thus overcoming issues faced by low efficiency of bioactive factor delivery, difficulty in penetrating biological barriers, low efficacy bioimaging, and adverse off-target effects that otherwise hinder progress in the development of cardiovascular medicine. Nanoparticle-based medicines are driving efforts to provide more effective theranostic solutions for clinical problems posed in MI treatment, specifically through the regulation of inflammation and fibrogenesis, the promotion of angiogenesis, and hastened tissue regeneration. This chapter is a summary of nanoparticle-based therapy for MI and provides an overview of recent advances in nanoparticle development for preclinical MI research and their prospects for translation to clinical medicine.
