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Ultrasound-Guided Entry into the Heart

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SYNCARDIA is administered through a standard intravenous (IV) injection using non-viral lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). To localize delivery, focused ultrasound is applied over the heart, temporarily increasing blood vessel permeability in the targeted region. This allows LNPs to enter heart tissue only at the ultrasound focus, enabling non-invasive, region-specific delivery.

Step-by-step process:
 

  • IV Injection: Systemic delivery of stealth LNPs

  • FUS Localization: A targeted ultrasonic "gate" creates vascular permeability only at the infarct border zone

  • Homing: The LNPs travel precisely into the damaged heart tissue

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Lipid Nanoparticle (LNP)
Example

Layer 1: Microenvironmental Uptake Bias

LNPs are tuned to preferentially enter stiff, scar-associated fibroblasts.
 

Layer 2: Mechanogated Activation

Expression only starts in cells experiencing high mechanical strain, activating YAP/TAZ → TEAD transcription.

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Layer 3: Fibroblast Gating

Only active scar fibroblasts trigger the program using markers like periostin (Postn) and collagen type I (Col1a1).

Layer 4: Post-Transcriptional De-Targeting

Tissue-specific microRNA binding sites are embedded that cause degredation of the LNP if it reaches an organ that is not the heart. 

Phospholipid Bilayer

Therapeutic Molecules

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