Heart-targeted nanoscale drug delivery systems.

The efficacious delivery of drugs to the heart is an important treatment strategy for various heart diseases. Nanocarriers have shown increasing promise in targeted drug delivery systems. The success of nanocarriers for delivering drugs to therapeutic sites in the heart mainly depends on specific target sites, appropriate drug delivery carriers and effective targeting ligands. Successful targeted drug delivery suggests the specific deposition of a drug in the heart with minimal effects on other organs after administration. This review discusses the pathological manifestations, pathogenesis, therapeutic limitations and new therapeutic advances in various heart diseases. In particular, we summarize the recent advances in heart-targeted nanoscale drug delivery systems, including dendrimers, liposomes, polymer-drug conjugates, microparticles, nanostents, nanoparticles, micelles and microbubbles. Current clinical trials, the commercial market and future perspective are further discussed in the conclusions.