Chapter 23 - Translational Exploration and Clinical Testing of Silica–Gold Nanoparticles in Development of Multifunctional Nanoplatform for Theranostics of Atherosclerosis

Abstract

A single multifunctional gold nanoparticle (NP)–based platform incorporating multiple receptor targeting, multimodality imaging, and multiple therapeutic entities in a close interaction with near-infrared (NIR) laser technologies is able to revolutionize cardiology and provides the ultimate “magic bullet” for interventional vascular biomedicine. The certain progress of the photothermal technologies through the last 12years allows us to dream about the new horizons in the research and development of new approaches for theranostics of atherosclerosis. First scientific achievements of Prof. Naomi Halas from Rice University (Houston, TX) released in 1998–99 and then in 2003 have developed new solutions to research and engineering problems beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries with a focus on infrared properties of gold and NIR thermal therapy of tumors with the noble metal NP under magnetic resonance guidance. Then Prof. Zahi Fayad (Mount Sinai, New York, NY) in 2010 tried to explore the plaque composition with the targeted gold NP and multicolor computed tomography. The successful results of the bench and clinical studies of the plasmonic photothermal therapy of atherosclerosis with the acceptable safety and efficacy profile were published in 2012–17 by the group of Dr. Alexander Kharlamov (De Haar Research Foundation, Rotterdam, The Netherlands—New York, NY; Ural Federal University, Yekaterinburg, Russia; Ural Institute of Cardiology, Yekaterinburg, Russia) and then validated by the team of Prof. Stanislav Emelianov (The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX) in 2013 simultaneously testing intravascular photoacoustics. The similar idea of the photoangioplasty of atherosclerosis or correctly photodynamic therapy with motexafin lutetium was announced in 2000 by the group of Dr. Stanley G. Rockson (Stanford University, Stanford, CA) without further development. The bioresorbable NPs have a chance to upgrade the field and solve concerns of nanotoxicity. The photothermal theranostics with the optimal safety profile was examined in experiments of both Tucker-Schwartz's (Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN) and Wang's team (Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China) of 2012 with the noble metal coated single-walled carbon nanotubes for applications in surface-enhanced Raman scattering imaging, optical coherence tomography, magnetic resonance tomography, and therapy as well as in the developments of bioresorbable electronic stent/scaffold in 2015 (Son D et al., Institute for Basic Science, Seoul, Republic of Korea). Recently, conducting polymers (e.g., polyaniline, PEDOT:PSS—poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate, polypyrrole) have emerged as a new type of NIR photothermal therapy and imaging agent. The intravenously injected sugar-based amphiphilic NPs at the experiments of Dr. Lewis DR (Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ) in 2015–16 showed a pronounced increase in lesion association compared with the control NPs, causing a significant reduction in neointimal hyperplasia, lipid burden, cholesterol clefts, and overall plaque occlusion. A statin-loaded reconstituted high-density lipoprotein (HDL) NP can inhibit atherosclerotic plaque inflammation. Dr. Duivenvoorden R et al. (Translational and Molecular Imaging Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY; Department of Vascular Medicine, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands) in 2014 developed a reconstituted HDL NP as a vehicle to deliver statins directly to atherosclerotic plaques. So, the number of achievements and developments in nanomedicine is rocketing today, but without clear destination for the real-world cardiovascular medicine. The tools of the systems in biomedicine reveal the lack of the proper multifunctional nanoformulations and medical devices to reach all the expectations of the real clinical practice. The new wave of the discoveries heralding the achievements of the running fourth industrial revolution promises to solve these options with the combination of the approaches such as transient scaffolding, sensing, and multifunctional NPs detecting vulnerable lesions and degrading atherosclerotic plaques with the highest efficacy and safety for a patient.