Scientists have engineered dual-membrane nanoparticles that home in on heart tissue after a heart attack, delivering regenerative molecules while evading the body’s immune defences.
Myocardial infarction, better known as a heart attack, is a leading cause of death worldwide. After an injury like this, the heart struggles to regenerate to its previous health. Current treatments, while lifesaving, can rarely restore function or prevent harmful structural changes.
But new nanotechnology could provide an answer. By designing targeted, biomimetic drug carriers, scientists aim to overcome biological barriers, avoid rapid immune clearance, and deliver therapies directly to damaged tissue.
Building Biomimetic Nanoparticles
Published in Bioactive Materials, researchers have created stromal-platelet membrane-inspired nanoparticles (SPINs), combining a synthetic biodegradable core with natural cell membranes.
The core is made from poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), a widely used polymer for drug delivery, which encapsulates concentrated secretomes derived from cardiac stromal cells. To create this core-like structure, the secretome was dissolved in an aqueous phase and trapped within PLGA via a solvent evaporation process.
The resulting nanoparticles were then characterized for size, charge, and integrity using techniques such as dynamic light scattering and electron microscopy.
For optimized targeting and immune protection, the nanoparticles are coated with membranes from stromal cells and platelets. These are processed through ultrasonication and extrusion, preserving surface proteins that help the particles attach to injured tissue and avoid immune detection.
Microscopy confirmed the formation of a uniform ~200-nanometre shell, while zeta potential measurements showed a shift towards a less negative charge, indicating an improved compatibility in the bloodstream.
Designed For Stability And Sustained Release
SPINs are built to last through storage, freeze-thaw cycles, and exposure to serum. The PLGA core steadily releases growth factors over up to two weeks, ensuring prolonged regenerative signalling rather than a short burst of activity.
Surface molecules from platelet membranes guide the particles to injured heart tissue, where they accumulate with far greater precision than uncoated or single-membrane designs. The dual coating also extends circulation time, increasing the chance of the therapy reaching its target.
Results In Preclinical Models
In vivo studies of the SPINs showed their strong preferential accumulation in the infarcted myocardium, with minimal off-target organ retention and a specificity that surpassed uncoated and single-membrane nanoparticles. Imaging confirmed that the membrane coatings remained intact in the body, preserving both targeting and immune-evasive properties.
By combining injury-site adhesion with controlled release of growth factors, the nanoparticles promoted tissue healing and regeneration, presenting a new possibility for post-myocardial infarction therapy.
Next Steps
The researchers say their work represents a step forward for regenerative nanomedicine, bringing together biomimicry, controlled delivery, and immune evasion in a single platform.
The next challenge will be to refine large-scale manufacturing and ensure the technology meets regulatory and safety requirements before it is tested on human patients.
Journal Reference
He M., et al. (2025). Stromal-platelet membrane-inspired nanoparticles (SPIN) for targeted heart repair. Bioactive Materials, 53, 45-57. DOI: 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2025.01.029, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452199X25002919
News
Scientists Develop a Clever New Way To Kill Cancer Cells From the Inside
Scientists have developed an experimental strategy that exploits a chemical byproduct of cancer cells to produce anticancer drugs directly inside them. Scientists in Japan have developed an experimental method that uses a chemical produced [...]
Our books are available worldwide!
Online Sellers other than Amazon, Routledge, and IOPP Indigo Global Health Care Equivalency in the Age of Nanotechnology, Nanomedicine and Artifcial Intelligence Global Health Care Equivalency In The Age Of Nanotechnology, Nanomedicine And Artificial [...]
After only a short training, people in a coma managed to send targeted signals
Researchers have succeeded in communicating with brain-injured patients who are unconscious. They see enormous potential in this for future treatments. Patients who lie motionless in bed after a severe brain injury and do not [...]
MIT Scientists Reprogram Immune Cells Inside the Body To Destroy Cancer
Natural killer cells reprogrammed inside mice eliminated lymphoma tumors and helped damaged livers heal, though whether this approach could help people with cancer or autoimmune disease remains unknown. To make a cancer treatment from [...]
Melanoma mRNA Vaccine Shows Promise in Preventing Disease Recurrence
Key takeaways: Phase 3 trial finds personalized intismeran plus pembrolizumab may better prevent high-risk melanoma recurrence after surgery The trial enrolled 1,137 patients and builds on phase 2 results showing about half the recurrence [...]
Scientists Discover a Powerful New Weapon Against a Dangerous Gut Infection
The promise of an experimental treatment for C. difficile gut infections lies partly in the bacteria it leaves alive, according to early laboratory and mouse research. Broad-spectrum antibiotics can disrupt the gut’s microbial community, [...]
Your Bones May Hold a Hidden Clue to Blood Cancer Survival
For people with blood cancers called myelodysplastic syndromes, osteoporosis may hold an overlooked clue to survival, a three-year observational study suggests. In blood cancers that develop in the bone marrow, an important clue to [...]
Researchers Discover What Reading for Pleasure May Be Doing to Your Brain
Reading for pleasure may offer surprising benefits for the brain, with research linking the habit to better mental health, stronger cognitive abilities, and a lower risk of dementia. Reading for pleasure may do far [...]
Scientists Discover a Hidden Trigger That Keeps Inflammation Alive
Inflammation persists after proteins detach from immune receptors, revealing a potential target for autoimmune treatments. Since a Nobel Prize-winning discovery in the 1990s identified molecules called Toll-like Receptors as the guardians of the human [...]
A Virus Gives Itself Away the Moment It Attacks
Researchers have found the trigger behind a powerful bacterial defense against viruses. Viruses that prey on bacteria could become an increasingly important tool for treating bacterial infections, particularly as antibiotic resistance makes some infections [...]
Scientists Discover Aspirin May Slash Dementia Risk by 70% – but Only for Certain People
Aspirin was linked to a sharply lower dementia risk in some older adults, and their genes may hold the clue. A Monash University analysis found that older adults with a particular genetic profile had [...]
Inflammation May Awaken Dormant Cancer Cells Years After Treatment
The body’s response to inflammation may disturb cancer cells that have been lying silent for years, giving them an opportunity to grow again. Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have found that gut inflammation [...]
Where do nanoparticles go once they enter the body?
New international best practice guidance, co-written at ANSTO, sets out how to measure where nanoparticles like titanium dioxide end up in the body and how long they remain. The guidance has been shared by [...]
Long-Acting HIV Shots Could Solve a Major Treatment Challenge for Young People
A major African trial suggests that changing how HIV treatment is delivered could significantly improve viral suppression in adolescents. Young people with HIV were more likely to keep the virus suppressed when they received [...]
WHO Factsheets – The top 10 causes of death
In 2023, the 10 leading causes of death accounted for 33 million deaths, or 54% of the total 61 million deaths worldwide. The top global causes of death, in order of total number of lives lost, [...]
Aging Cells May Be Hiding From the Immune System – Scientists Think They Know How
Your immune system is supposed to clear out damaged cells. Researchers may have found how some of them hide and linger as the body ages. Researchers led by Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University have identified [...]
