Effect of EGF1 peptides in directing nanoparticles to thrombi

In order to examine the effect of EGF1 peptides in directing nanoparticles to thrombi, the synthesized EGF1 peptide was conjugated to poly (ethyleneglycol)-poly (lactide) (PEG-PLA) nanoparticles (NP) to form EGF1-NP. A lipophilic fluorescent dye, coumarin-6, was incorporated into EGF1-NP so as to detect its loading and release capacity. The binding ability of EGF1-NP with TF-expressing cells was shown to be significantly higher than that of the non-conjugated NP. Following an intravenous administration, fluorescence was distributed along the vessel wall of the thrombosis regions in the model rats injected with coumarin-6-loaded EGF1-NP. The in vitro and in vivo results suggest that EGF1-NP is a promising drug delivery system for targeting cerebral thrombi.