In vivo biocompatibility of porous silicon biomaterials for drug delivery to the heart

• Published in: Biomaterials Vol. 35; no. 29; pp. 8394 - 8405
• Main Authors: Tölli, Marja A, Ferreira, Mónica P.A, Kinnunen, Sini M, Rysä, Jaana, Mäkilä, Ermei M, Szabó, Zoltán, Serpi, Raisa E, Ohukainen, Pauli J, Välimäki, Mika J, Correia, Alexandra M.R, Salonen, Jarno J, Hirvonen, Jouni T, Ruskoaho, Heikki J, Santos, Hélder A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Ltd 01.09.2014
• Subjects: Advanced Basic Science; Animals; Biocompatibility; Biocompatible Materials - adverse effects; Biocompatible Materials - chemistry; Biomaterials; Biomedical materials; Cardiac delivery; Cells, Cultured; Dentistry; Drug Carriers - adverse effects; Drug Carriers - chemistry; Drug Delivery Systems; Fibrosis - chemically induced; Fibrosis - genetics; Gene Expression Regulation - drug effects; Heart; In vivo testing; In vivo tests; Inflammation - chemically induced; Inflammation - genetics; Male; Microparticles; Myocardial infarction; Myocardial Infarction - drug therapy; Myocardial Infarction - pathology; Myocardium - metabolism; Myocardium - pathology; Myocytes, Cardiac - cytology; Myocytes, Cardiac - drug effects; Nanoparticles; Porosity; Porous silicon; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Silicon - adverse effects; Silicon - chemistry; Surgical implants; Nanoparticles; Myocardial infarction; Biocompatibility; Cardiac delivery; Porous silicon; Microparticles
• ISSN: 0142-9612; 1878-5905
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2014.05.078

Abstract Myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, is the irreversible necrosis of heart muscle secondary to prolonged ischemia, which is an increasing problem in terms of morbidity, mortality and healthcare costs worldwide. Along with the idea to develop nanocarriers that efficiently deliver therapeutic agents to target the heart, in this study, we aimed to test the in vivo biocompatibility of different sizes of thermally hydrocarbonized porous silicon (THCPSi) microparticles and thermally oxidized porous silicon (TOPSi) micro and nanoparticles in the heart tissue. Despite the absence or low cytotoxicity, both particle types showed good in vivo biocompatibility, with no influence on hematological parameters and no considerable changes in cardiac function before and after MI. The local injection of THCPSi microparticles into the myocardium led to significant higher activation of inflammatory cytokine and fibrosis promoting genes compared to TOPSi micro and nanoparticles; however, both particles showed no significant effect on myocardial fibrosis at one week post-injection. Our results suggest that THCPSi and TOPSi micro and nanoparticles could be applied for cardiac delivery of therapeutic agents in the future, and the PSi biomaterials might serve as a promising platform for the specific treatment of heart diseases.