Biomimetic fibrin-targeted and H2O2-responsive nanocarriers for thrombus therapy

Thrombosis is a principle cause of various life-threatening cardiovascular diseases. However, current antithrombotic treatments using drugs only offer limited efficacy due to short half-life, low targeting ability to the thrombus site, and unexpected bleeding complications. Taking into account of the biological characteristics of thrombus including upregulation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and abundance of fibrin, we engineered a H2O2-responsive nanocarrier for thrombus-targeting delivery of an antithrombotic agent (i.e., tirofiban). The nanocarrier was composed of a drug-conjugated dextran nanocore and a red blood cell (RBC) membrane shell, and its surface was functionalized with a fibrin-targeting peptide, CREKA. Tirofiban was conjugated to dextran through a H2O2-cleavable phenylboronic ester linkage. The fibrin-targeting RBC membrane-cloaked dextran-tirofiban conjugate nanoparticles (i.e., T-RBC-DTC NPs) can scavenge H2O2 and provide controlled release of tirofiban to achieve site-specific antithrombotic effects. In RAW 264.7 cells and HUVECs, the T-RBC-DTC NPs effectively scavenged H2O2 and protected cells from H2O2-induced cytotoxicity. In the ferric chloride-induced carotid thrombosis mouse model, the T-RBC-DTC NPs efficiently accumulated at the injured carotid artery and exhibited significantly enhanced antithrombotic activity compared to free drug. The T-RBC-DTC NPs also exhibited good biocompatibility according to histology analysis. Overall, our results indicated that this bioengineered nanocarrier offers a promising therapeutic strategy for thrombotic disorders.