Nanoencapsulated drug delivery to prevent aneurysm progression

Author

Xifra Rosich, Helena

Abstract

An aortic aneurysm is a life-threatening condition where a bulge in the section of the aorta is formed due to an underlying weakness in the aortic wall. If is left untreated, the aortic wall is continuously weakened until a rupture or tear takes place, causing an aortic dissection. An-eurysms are often asymptomatic and undiagnosed, presenting a global incidence of 2.5 out of 1000 people every year. Current treatments do not favor the regeneration and recovery of the affected tissue. Based on the shortcomings of current treatments, our research group is developing a local drug delivery system focused on the encapsulation of anti-aneurysms drugs, more concretely, doxycycline, within poly(lactic co glycolic acid) – PLGA nanoparticles (NPs).
In this context, the main objective of the project is to improve the delivery of doxycycline loaded in PLGA nanoparticles by actively functionalizing those nanoparticles to be efficiently internalized without significantly compromising cell viability.
In this study, the functionalization of PLGA with cell penetrating peptides (CPP) significantly improved membrane penetration in human aortic smooth muscle cells. PLGA NPs were ef-fectively formulated with a hydrodynamic diameter close to the optimal size (150-200 nm), high encapsulation efficiency (around 90%) and presented low cytotoxicity. Doxycycline-loaded NPs were able, in vitro, to decrease MMP-2 production, cornerstone to an efficient anti-aneurysm therapy.

Director

Martorell López, Jordi
Fornaguera i Puigvert, Cristina

Degree

IQS SE - Undergraduate Program in Biotechnology

Date

2022-06-07