Emerging Use of Nanoparticles in Diagnosis Of Atherosclerosis Disease: A Review

Despite over the last decades, cardiovascular research has significantly enhanced our understanding of the atherosclerotic process, the molecular mechanisms underlying the pathology remain mostly unclear. In fact, the current diagnostic modalities do not infonn clearly on the cellular and molecular processes that drive the development of atherosclerotic pathology and each of the imaging techniques has advantages and limitations in tenns of radiation exposure, reproducibility, sensitivity, resolution and costs. Therefore, to overcome the limitations of individual imaging modalities and develop novel and preventive strategies, we need additional approaches to detect the atherosclerotic plaques' formation in patients at high risk for clinical events. In this context, a new dimension of information lie in the molecular imaging that allows to get a better knowledge of biological phenomena. In addition, multimodal imaging approaches play a pivotal role for the earlier detection of pathological process. Here, we provide a critical analysis of the various imaging modalities currently used in clinical and nanotechnology approaches based on the development of bio-nanocarriers for detection of cardiovascular diseases.