Our growing knowledge of cardiovascular disease often leads to promising therapeutic compounds. However, many drugs’ applicability is limited by their high toxicity or poor in vivo stability. Furthermore, many diseases are best treated by consistent and long-lasting drug exposure, which is difficult to achieve when administering bare drugs.

Nanomedicine can overcome these challenges. Incorporating drugs into nanomaterials can shield them from potentially damaging in vivo environments (e.g., water or enzymes). Altering nanomaterials’ properties can regulate drugs’ biodistribution and release into the body. Nanomaterials have been used to enhance chemotherapeutics’ tumor uptake while limiting their harmful impact on immune cells and healthy tissues. Although several such cancer nanotherapeutics are now being used in the clinic, nanotherapeutics’ clinical translation in other contexts has remained limited.

Rather than trying to evade the immune system, we aim to treat inflammatory conditions – such as atherosclerosis – by developing nanotherapeutics optimized for targeting immune cells. To achieve this, we draw inspiration from nature. The human body transports most water-insoluble compounds using high-density lipoprotein, better known as ‘good’ cholesterol. We have developed approximately 20 nm-sized nanoparticles, consisting of lipids, cholesterol, and various proteins, that inherently interact with immune cells. Using identical compounds, we create high-density lipoprotein analogs (termed ‘nanobiologics’) and load them with various drugs. Nanobiologics’ high biocompatibility and propensity for immune cell uptake make them effective platforms for treating inflammatory conditions.

We employ nanobiologics to comprehensively study cardiovascular disease in both mouse and large animal models. In addition, we have programs focused on cancer and organ transplant rejection. Through our collaboration with Mount Sinai’s Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Institute, we use state-of-the-art imaging modalities (e.g., MRI or PET) to non-invasively study our nanomaterials and their effects on the immune system.