Improvement of Nitric Oxide Availability in Myocardial Ischemia/reperfusion: Role of Nanotechnology as a Therapeutic Approach

In the search for an effective treatment against myocardial damage caused by oxidative stress, it has become necessary to generate new therapies that overcome the difficulties and failures observed in conventional therapies. Therefore, nanotechnology and nanoparticle development may open new horizons for the control and therapy of oxidative stress and associated myocardial damage. The term nanomaterials describe materials with nanoscale dimensions (< 100 nm). In this chapter, different nanoparticle drug delivery systems, along with their targeting strategies, and how they can help to improve therapeutic failure in oxidative stress using nanoparticles in the control of myocardial infarction and oxidative stress will be discussed. Achieving an inhibition of oxidative stress producers or improving the endogenous antioxidant capacity through drug delivery by nanoparticles increases the drug’s aqueous solubility, protects its degradation, allows prolonged release, and improves the bioavailability, determining a targeted delivery, and decreases the toxic side effects. It leads to new therapeutic opportunities for both monotherapies and combined therapies, benefiting from nanoparticles' particularities associated with increased solubility, bioavailability, and specificity. 

Keywords: Combined antioxidant treatment, Drug delivery system, Ischemia/Reperfusion injury, Myocardial infarct, Nanotechnology, Nanoparticles, Oxidative stress.