Evaluating platelet activation related to the degradation products of biomaterials using molecular markers

Assessing the structural stability and drug encapsulation efficiency of poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(L-lactic acid) nanoparticles loaded with atorvastatin calcium: Based on dissipative particle dynamics

Block polymer micelles have been proven highly biocompatible and effective in improving drug utilization for delivering atorvastatin calcium. Therefore, it is of great significance to measure the stability of drug-loading nano micelles from the perspective of block polymer molecular sequence design, which would provide theoretical guidance for subsequent clinical applications. This study aims to investigate the structural stability of drug-loading micelles formed by two diblock/triblock polymers with various block sequences through coarse-grained dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulations. From the perspectives of the binding strength of poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) in nanoparticles, hydrophilic bead surface coverage, and the morphological alteration of nanoparticles induced by shear force, the ratio of hydrophilic/hydrophobic sequence length has been observed to affect the stability of nanoparticles. We have found that for diblock polymers, PEG3kda-PLLA2kda has the best stability (corresponding hydrophilic coverage ratio is 0.832), while PEG4kda-PLLA5kda has the worst (coverage ratio 0.578). For triblock polymers, PEG4kda-PLLA2kda-PEG4kda has the best stability (0.838), while PEG4kda-PLLA5kda-PEG4kda possesses the worst performance (0.731), and the average performance on stability is better than nanoparticles composed of diblock polymers.

Targeting biophysical cues to address platelet storage lesions

Platelets play vital roles in vascular repair, especially in primary hemostasis, and have been widely used in transfusion to prevent bleeding or manage active bleeding. Recently, platelets have been used in tissue repair (e.g., bone, skin, and dental alveolar tissue) and cell engineering as drug delivery carriers. However, the biomedical applications of platelets have been associated with platelet storage lesions (PSLs), resulting in poor clinical outcomes with reduced recovery, survival, and hemostatic function after transfusion. Accumulating evidence has shown that biophysical cues play important roles in platelet lesions, such as granule secretion caused by shear stress, adhesion affected by substrate stiffness, and apoptosis caused by low temperature. This review summarizes four major biophysical cues (i.e., shear stress, substrate stiffness, hydrostatic pressure, and thermal microenvironment) involved in the platelet preparation and storage processes, and discusses how they may synergistically induce PSLs such as platelet shape change, activation, apoptosis and clearance. We also review emerging methods for studying these biophysical cues in vitro and existing strategies targeting biophysical cues for mitigating PSLs. We conclude with a perspective on the future direction of biophysics-based strategies for inhibiting PSLs. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Platelet storage lesions (PSLs) involve a series of structural and functional changes. It has long been accepted that PSLs are initiated by biochemical cues. Our manuscript is the first to propose four major biophysical cues (shear stress, substrate stiffness, hydrostatic pressure, and thermal microenvironment) that platelets experience in each operation step during platelet preparation and storage processes in vitro, which may synergistically contribute to PSLs. We first clarify these biophysical cues and how they induce PSLs. Strategies targeting each biophysical cue to improve PSLs are also summarized. Our review is designed to draw the attention from a broad range of audience, including clinical doctors, biologists, physical scientists, engineers and materials scientists, and immunologist, who study on platelets physiology and pathology.