Current targeting strategies and advanced nanoplatforms for atherosclerosis therapy

Atherosclerosis is one of the major causes of death worldwide, and it is closely related to many cardiovascular diseases, such as stroke, myocardial infraction and angina. Although traditional surgical and pharmacological interventions can effectively retard or slow down the progression of atherosclerosis, it is very difficult to prevent or even reverse this disease. In recent years, with the rapid development of nanotechnology, various nanoagents have been designed and applied to different diseases including atherosclerosis. The unique atherosclerotic microenvironment with signature biological components allows nanoplatforms to distinguish atherosclerotic lesions from normal tissue and to approach plaques specifically. Based on the process of atherosclerotic plaque formation, this review summarises the nanodrug delivery strategies for atherosclerotic therapy, trying to provide help for researchers to understand the existing atherosclerosis management approaches as well as challenges and to reasonably design anti-atherosclerotic nanoplatforms.