Constructing Conjugated Polymer Composite Fluorescent Nanodrug Materials for Treating Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm.

Abstract

The abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a dilation of the lower part of the body aorta. AAA has no obvious symptoms in the early stages until the aortic wall ruptures suddenly, resulting in massive blood loss and flow into the abdominal cavity. Currently, there is no effective drug treatment for AAA, and the development of effective drugs is crucial. In this study, a novel approach utilizing chitosan/genipin/zinc oxide (CH/G-ZnO) composite nanoparticles as a drug delivery system is proposed. Compound 1 was loaded onto these nanoparticles to form CH/G-ZnO@1 composite. The composite material exhibited light-triggered and rapid gelation properties, and its structure and performance were comprehensively characterized. Subsequently, by treating vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), we found that CH/G-ZnO@1 was able to significantly reduce metalloproteinase (MMP) and increase the expression of COL4A1, thereby increasing the proliferative activity of VSMCs.