Cardiac Homing Peptide-Decorated Epigallocatechin Gallate-Loaded PLGA Nanoparticles Alleviate Acute Myocardial Infarction

Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) exerts cardioprotective effects on acute myocardial infarction (AMI) through multiple pathways. However, the clinical application of EGCG is limited because of its instability under physiological conditions and low bioavailability. In this study, poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) was used as a drug carrier to prepare EGCG nanoparticles, then EGCG targeting drug delivery system was designed modifying by cardiac homing peptide (CHP).We constructed a preparation route combining double-emulsion solvent evaporation method and carbodiimide method. By optimizing the preparation process, the particle size of EGCG nanoparticle was reduced and the dispersibility was improved. In addition, the established preparation procedure uses safe and low-toxicity reagents, requires no strict temperature control or specialized instrumentation, and therefore significantly reduces the technical difficulty of large-scale industrial production. EGCG-PLGA-CHP had myocardial targeting and good safety in the MTT cytotoxicity test, as well as alleviated AMI by regulating apoptosis-related protein expression in a dose-dependent manner. Compared with EGCG monomer, EGCG-PLGA-CHP achieved a better therapeutic effect. This study provides a new strategy for promoting the application of EGCG in the clinical treatment of AMI.