# Aptamer-functionalized cardiac patches

> **NIH NIH R01** · PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, THE · 2021 · $521,146

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 Ischemic heart disease affects ~15 million Americans and accounts for ~2,150 deaths every day. The ability
to develop multifunctional implants for local delivery of therapeutic agents holds great potential for the treatment
of myocardial infarction (MI), which remains challenging today. The objective of this project is to develop a novel
cardiac patch with two primary functions of promoting both angiogenesis and anti-inflammation. Compelling
preliminary results have been collected, showing that nucleic acid aptamers can be incorporated into hydrogels
with the capability of sequestering and releasing therapeutic agents. Based on the compelling results, this project
is developed with three specific aims including 1) development of aptamer-functionalized cardiac patches for
controlled release of angiogenic factors, 2) evaluation of the functionality of the patches in the promotion of
therapeutic angiogenesis and MI treatment, and 3) evaluation of therapeutic angiogenesis and anti-inflammation
for synergistic MI treatment. It is anticipated that aptamer-functionalized patches would stably sequester
therapeutic proteins and release them in a sustained manner; and that co-delivery of multiple signaling molecules
would lead to synergistic MI treatment. The success of this project holds great potential to open a new avenue
of developing cardiac implants for the treatment of patients with ischemic heart disease.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10186471
- **Project number:** 5R01HL122311-07
- **Recipient organization:** PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, THE
- **Principal Investigator:** Yong Wang
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $521,146
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2015-08-01 → 2024-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10186471

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10186471, Aptamer-functionalized cardiac patches (5R01HL122311-07). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10186471. Licensed CC0.

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