Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara have developed multifunctional micellar nanoparticles to direct both diagnostic imaging dyes and a therapeutic compound to atherosclerotic plaques in vivo. The fluorescent micelles bind to the entire surface of the plaque, and concentrate at the shoulders of the plaque, a location that is prone to rupture. In addition, the targeted micelles deliver an increased concentration of the anticoagulant drug Hirulog to the plaque compared with untargeted micelles.

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File Number: 19775 

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Background
Cardiovascular disease affects 1 in 3 people in the United States during their lifetime, and accounts for nearly a third of the deaths that occur each year. Atherosclerosis is one of the leading causes of cardiovascular disease, and it results in raised plaques in the arterial wall that can occlude the vascular lumen and block blood flow through the vessel. Antibodies and peptides that bind to molecular markers specifically expressed on atherosclerotic plaques have shown promise for plaque imaging in vivo, but clotting on the plaque has not been used as a target. We reasoned that the fibrin deposited on plaques could serve as a target for delivering diagnostic and therapeutic compounds to plaques.