Application of nanomaterials in heart transplantation: a narrative review

Abstract

Background and Objective Heart transplantation (HT) is a therapeutic option for end-stage heart disease. Still, it faces many challenges, especially the shortage of donor sources and the poor durability of grafts, which are the two critical issues. In this review, we generalize the application of existing nanomedicine technologies in donor management as well as prevention and diagnosis of post-transplantation complications, also including the current preclinical studies of nanomaterials in cardiac tissue engineering and gene-editing xeno-donor grafts. Finally, we discuss the remaining problems and future directions of nanomaterials in the field of HT. Methods A narrative review using current search of the most recent literature on the topic. The terms “nanomaterials”, “nano medicine’’, “Heart transplantation (HT)”, “Nano-drug delivery system (NDDS)” or their combination were searched in PubMed and Google Scholar. The specified timeframe began from 1990, and we prioritized publications mainly from the last 10 years. Key Content and Findings Nano-systems integrating therapeutic and diagnostic functions have been applied to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) with their unique advantages in multiple fields such as drug delivery, tissue engineering, gene editing, imaging, biomarker editing, and many other aspects. In terms of transplantation, the preservation, transportation, and pretreatment of donor hearts machine perfusion (MP) provide the possibility for nano-systems with unique features, and therapeutic and diagnostic functions to be directly and passively targeted in order to improve the functional status of the transplanted organs or to increase the ability to tolerate the graft of patients. The development of nano-imaging, nanosensor, and nano biomarker technologies are also being applied to monitor the status of transplant recipients for early prevention and treatment of post-transplantation-related complications. Nanomaterials combined with cardiac tissue engineering and gene editing technologies could also expand graft sources and alleviate donor shortages. Conclusions Although the overall research on nanomaterial applications in the field of HT is in its infancy, its role in improving the prognosis of transplant recipients and breaking the current dilemma of HT is clear. However, before nanotechnologies can be translated into clinical applications in the future, they must be aimed at ensuring the drug delivery system’s safety and pose a challenge in the direction of the ability to intervene with multiple drugs in combination.