Ultrasmall calcium carbonate nanoparticles to improve the diagnosis of atherosclerosis

2023-09-15 12:15:55

Atherosclerosis is characterized by the hardening of blood vessels, especially certain arteries, due to the local accumulation of fibers and lipids (mainly cholesterol) on the inner wall of an artery, causing it to narrow.

It is a complex disease that can cause life-threatening events, such as myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke. Despite the severity of this disease, conventional diagnostic protocols lack specificity and fail to predict the type of atherosclerotic lesion or the risk of plaque rupture.

Despite the severity of the disease, conventional diagnoses lack specificity and fail to predict the type of atherosclerotic lesion or the risk of plaque rupture.

As explained by Professor Ikerbasque from CIC biomaGUNE Jesus Ruiz-Cabello, “Diagnosis of plaque vulnerability remains a challenge due to the lack of effective diagnostic tools. To address this problem, technologies such as non-invasive medical imaging of atherosclerotic plaque with personalized nanotechnology solutions are emerging. However, due to the porosity of the plate, imaging with nanoparticles is a difficult task.”

The team led by Ruiz Cabello, together with the researcher Susana Carregal has developed contrast agents for selective molecular imaging of atherosclerotic plaques using ultrasmall amorphous calcium carbonate nanoparticles.

The researchers Jesús Ruiz-Cabello and Susana Carregal. / CIC biomaGUNE

He calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is a safe and biocompatible material with a long history of use in textiles, cosmetics and food. In this work, recently published in the prestigious magazine ACS Nano, The team has compared different nanoparticles specifically designed for different features of atherosclerosis (such as calcification or inflammation), which provide useful information about the phase or stage of plaque development.

An effective tool

“We have managed to modulate the biological interactions and contrast of these nanoparticles for various imaging techniques, including magnetic resonance, by carefully designing their physicochemical properties,” says Carregal. “Our work demonstrates that amorphous calcium carbonate nanoparticles doped with Gd(III) are an effective tool due to their high magnetic resonance contrast and physicochemical properties.”

Innovation lies in the combination of materials science, molecular imaging and biomedicine to design biocompatible and safe contrast agents

The novelty and impact of the work lies in the combination of materials science, molecular imaging and biomedicine to design biocompatible and safe contrast agents with advanced properties for magnetic resonance imaging.

“Our results show the potential of this simple but pioneering nanoprobe, which could inspire new designs of contrast agents for atherosclerosis and other types of diseases and offer the possibility of formulating new theranostic agents (that serve both therapy and diagnosis)” , they conclude.

Reference:

Lydia Martínez-Parra et al. “A Comparative Study of Ultrasmall Calcium Carbonate Nanoparticles for Targeting and Imaging Atherosclerotic Plaque”. ACS Nano (2023).

Rights: Creative Commons.