Table 1.

The advantages and disadvantages of different types of nanoparticles as a drug delivery system (DDS)

	ADVANTAGES	DISADVANTAGES
IRON OXIDE NPS	Non-radiation exposure for imaging Specificity for tracking in vivo processes Intravenously administered Non-invasive imaging	Can persist in non-living cells Does not discriminate between endogenous iron content possibly due to a hemorrhage
GOLD NPS	Inert, stable, biocompatible, antioxidant, Near infra-red absorbance	Cardiotoxicity with long exposure Interferes with electrical processes of the heart
SILICA-BASED NPS	Easy synthesis Chemically and thermally stable Enables oral administration owing to no premature release	Serious reports of toxicity
LIPOSOMES	Easily tailored for targeting Delivers either hydrophobic or hydrophilic cargo Retains size characteristics in plasma Biodegradable Augments aqueous solubility of insoluble drugs In vivo stability Long half-life Increases bioavailability Enhanced permeability through biological barriers Spontaneously forming in aqueous media	Undergoes endosome recycling, which lowers its efficiency
EXOSOMES	Naturally carrying miRNAs and other molecules with cardioprotection	Unpredictable pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics Hard to isolate from other extracellular vesicles
PLGA NPS	Resorbable, biocompatible Metabolizable Easily upscaled for production	Encapsulation of hydrophilic agents is challenging
PROTEIN-BASED NPS	Metabolizable Easy to functionalize Amphiphilic Naturally having biochemical moieties for ligand binding No cellular toxicity	Batch-to-batch variation and scaling-up difficulty (Elzoghby et al, 2012) Limited source Potential antigenicity
APTAMERS	Low batch-to-batch variability Upscalable production Thermally stable (does not require refrigeration storage) Biodegradable Easy synthesis Low immunogenicity	Susceptible to nucleases Hard to predict pharmacokinetics Short lifetimes in vivo
SELF-ASSEMBLING PEPTIDES	Controllable kinetics Provide biochemical signals Biodegradable Allows for mechanical/electrical integration Allows for regeneration of myocardium and vasculature Supports cell recruitment	Limited administration routes (Relying on intramyocardial delivery)