Autonomous Drug-Encapsulated Nanoparticles: Towards a Novel Non-Invasive Approach to Prevent Atherosclerosis

Document Type : Original Paper

Authors

1 Department of Electrical Engineering, Center of Excellence on Soft Computing and Intelligent Information Processing (SCIIP), Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.

2 Department of Electrical Engineering, Center of Excellence on Soft Computing and Intelligent Information Processing (SCIIP), Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

Abstract

Introduction
This paper proposes the concept of autonomous drug-encapsulated nanoparticle (ADENP) as a novel non-invasive approach to prevent atherosclerosis. ADENP consists of three simple units of sensor, controller (computing), and actuator. The hardware complexity of ADENP is much lower than most of the nanorobots, while the performance is maintained by the synergism in the swarm architecture.
Materials and Methods
Since high accumulation of low density lipoprotein (LDL) macromolecules within the arterial wall plays a critical role in the initiation and development of atherosclerotic plaques, the task of the swarm of ADENPs is autonomous feedback control of LDL level in the interior of the arterial wall. In this study, we consider two specific types of ADENPs with distinguishing capabilities. The performance of each type is evaluated and compared on a well-known mathematical model of the arterial wall through computer simulation.
Results
Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed approach can successfully reduce the LDL level to a desired value in the arterial wall of a patient with very high LDL level that is corresponding to the highest rates of cardiovascular disease events. Moreover, it is shown that ADENP is capable of distinguishing between healthy and unhealthy arterial walls to reduce the drug side effects.
Conclusion
The proposed approach is a promising autonomous non-invasive method to prevent and treat complex diseases such as atherosclerosis.

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Iranian Journal of Medical Physics
Volume 10, Issue 2 - Serial Number 2
September and October 2013
Pages 118-132

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History

  • Receive Date: 25 April 2013
  • Revise Date: 28 January 2014
  • Accept Date: 14 August 2013

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