Nanoparticle-mediated endothelial cell-selective drug delivery system

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) causes peripheral tissue ischemia, resulting in skin ulceration, gangrene, and limb amputation. The therapeutic goal is restoration of blood supply, and various treatments including exercise, medical therapy, and surgical revascularization are performed. The prognosis of critical limb ischemia, however, is still unsatisfactory, and there are unmet needs in developing novel therapeutics. We have been developing novel nanotechnology-based drug delivery system aiming efficient angiogenesis by delivering of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor (statin) to endothelium. In this chapter, we summarized current developing status of nanotechnology-based drug delivery system including animal experiments and ongoing clinical trials (CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: UMIN000008011).