Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
There is currently no satisfactory solution to the problem of vulnerable plaque
but it will be tackled by a “Program of Excellence in Nanotechnology” by the
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the NIH. In concert with the NIH's
strategy to accelerate progress in medical research through innovative technology
and interdisciplinary research, cardiac disease was chosen as the focus of the
National Heart Lung and Blood Institute's Program of Excellence in Nanotechnology.
The program will be a partnership of 25 scientists from The Burnham Institute
(La Jolla, CA), University of California Santa Barbara, and The Scripps Research
Institute (San Diego, CA) that will design nanotechnologies to detect, monitor,
treat, and eliminate “vulnerable” plaques. By focusing on devising nanodevices,
machines at the molecular level, the scientists at these institutions will specifically
target vulnerable plaque. It is hoped that this work will lead to useful diagnostic and
therapeutic strategies for those suffering from this form of cardiac disease. The
project team will work on three innovative solutions to combat vulnerable plaque:
•
Building delivery vehicles that can be used to transport drugs and nanodevices
to sites of vulnerable plaque.
Designing a series of self-assembling polymers that can be used as molecular
•
nanostents to physically stabilize vulnerable plaque.
Creating nanomachines comprised of human proteins linked to synthetic nano-
•
devices for the purpose of sensing and responding to vulnerable plaque.
Nanotechnology for Regeneration of the Cardiovascular System
Nanotechnology may facilitate repair and replacement of blood vessels, myocar-
dium, and myocardial valves. It also may be used to stimulate regenerative pro-
cesses such as therapeutic angiogenesis for ischemic heart disease. Cellular
function is integrally related to morphology, so the ability to control cell shape in
tissue engineering is essential to ensure proper cellular function in final products.
Precisely constructed nanoscaffolds and microscaffolds are needed to guide tissue
repair and replacement in blood vessels and organs. Nanofiber meshes may enable
vascular grafts with superior mechanical properties to avoid patency problems com-
mon in synthetic grafts, particularly small-diameter grafts. Cytokines, growth fac-
tors, and angiogenic factors can be encapsulated in biodegradable microparticles or
nanoparticles and embedded in tissue scaffolds and substrates to enhance tissue
regeneration. Scaffolds capable of mimicking cellular matrices should be able to
stimulate the growth of new heart tissue and direct revascularization.
Nanostructures promote formation of blood vessels, bolster cardiovascular func-
tion after heart attack. Scientists at the Institute of Bionanotechnology in Medicine
at Northwestern University (Evanston, Ill) have shown that injecting nanoparticles
into the hearts of mice that suffered heart attacks helped restore cardiovascular func-
tion in these animals. The finding is an important research advance that one day
could help rapidly restore cardiovascular function in people who have heart disease.
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