Nanoparticle Based Cardiac Specific Drug Delivery

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Heart disease is the leading cause of death, globally. Cardiomyocytes in adult mammalian hearts lose their capacity to divide. Therefore, the loss of heart muscles after a heart attack is usually irreversible. Many novel therapies that aim to repair injured myocardium have been reported in the last few decades. In this field, there is an urgent need to develop a targeted drug delivery system that specifically delivers therapeutic agents to injured hearts. Nanoparticles are the most commonly used vehicles for targeted drug delivery in preclinical and clinical studies. Here, we provide the field with a comprehensive review of the latest strategies involving nanoparticle-based cardiac-specific drug delivery for the treatment of heart diseases. ABSTRACT: Heart failure secondary to myocardial injuries is a leading cause of death worldwide. Recently, a growing number of novel therapies have emerged for injured myocardium repairment. However, delivering therapeutic agents specifically to the injured heart remains a significant challenge. Nanoparticles are the most commonly used vehicles for targeted drug delivery. Various nanoparticles have been synthesized to deliver drugs and other therapeutic molecules to the injured heart via passive or active targeting approaches, and their targeting specificity and therapeutic efficacies have been investigated. Here, we summarized nanoparticle-based, cardiac-specific drug delivery systems, their potency for treating heart diseases, and the mechanisms underlying these cardiac-targeting strategies. We also discussed the clinical studies that have employed nanoparticle-based cardiac-specific drug delivery.