Nanotechnology in Treatment of Myocardial Infarction

Every year approximately 735,000 Americans have an acute myocardial infarction, also known as a heart attack. Despite successful treatment with a coronary artery stent or coronary artery bypass grafting, the heart muscle cells that have died as a result of ischemia do not have the capability to regenerate, and the heart heals by forming scar tissue. The scar, which does not contract, increases the work load of the heart muscle, often leading to heart failure. The MI group looks to improve the delivery and differentiation potential of stem cells in the regeneration of heart muscle tissue by using nanotechnology approaches.

Graduate student: Curran Henson

Research collaborator: Professor Jin-Woo Kim, Biological & Agricultural Engineering, Institute for Nanoscience & Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR

Clinical collaborator: Dr. Jawahar Mehta, MD, Professor of Medicine and Physiology and Biophysics, Stebbins Chair in Cardiology, UAMS, Little Rock, AR