Atherosclerosis plaque is a major cause of
cardiovascular diseases across the globe and a silent killer. There are no physical symptoms of the disease in its early stage and current diagnostic techniques cannot detect the small plaques effectively or safely. Plaques formed in blood vessels can cause serious clinical problems such as impaired blood flow or
sudden death, regardless of their size. Thus, detecting early stage of plaques is especially more important to effectively reduce the risk of
atherosclerosis. Nanoparticle based delivery systems are recognized as a promising option to fight against this disease, and various targeting
ligands are typically used to improve their efficiency. So, the choice of appropriate targeting
ligand is a crucial factor for optimal targeting efficiency.
cRGD peptide and
collagen IV targeting
peptide, which binds with the αvβ3
integrin overexpressed in the neovasculature of the plaque and
collagen type IV present in the plaque, respectively, are frequently used for the targeting of nanoparticles. However, at present no study has directly compared these two
peptides. Therefore, in this study, we have prepared cRGD or
collagen IV targeting (Col IV-tg-)
peptide conjugated and iron oxide nanoparticle (IONP) loaded
Pluronic based nano-carriers for systemic comparison of their targeting ability towards in vivo
atherosclerotic plaque in
Apolipoprotein E deficient (
Apo E-/-) mouse model. Nano-carriers with similar size, surface charge, and IONP loading content but with different targeting
ligands were analyzed through in vitro and in vivo experiments. Near infrared fluorescence imaging and magnetic resonance imaging techniques as well as
Prussian blue staining were used to compare the accumulation of different
ligand conjugated nano-caariers in the aorta of atherosclerotic mice. Our results indicate that cRGD based targeting is more efficient than Col IV-tg-
peptide in the early stage of
atherosclerosis.