A Cardiac-Targeted Nanozyme Interrupts the Inflammation-Free Radical Cycle in Myocardial Infarction

Severe systemic inflammation following myocardial infarction (MI) is a major cause of patient mortality. MI-induced inflammation can trigger the production of free radicals, which in turn ultimately leads to increased inflammation in cardiac lesions (i.e., inflammation-free radicals cycle), resulting in heart failure and patient death. However, currently available anti-inflammatory drugs have limited efficacy due to their weak anti-inflammatory effect and poor accumulation at the cardiac site. Herein, a novel Fe-Cur@TA nanozyme is developed for targeted therapy of MI, which is generated by coordinating Fe³⁺ and anti-inflammatory drug curcumin (Cur) with further modification of tannic acid (TA). Such Fe-Cur@TA nanozyme exhibits excellent free radicals scavenging and anti-inflammatory properties by reducing immune cell infiltration, promoting macrophage polarization toward the M2-like phenotype, suppressing inflammatory cytokine secretion, and blocking the inflammatory free radicals cycle. Furthermore, due to the high affinity of TA for cardiac tissue, Fe-Cur@TA shows an almost tenfold greater in cardiac retention and uptake than Fe-Cur. In mouse and preclinical beagle dog MI models, Fe-Cur@TA nanozyme preserves cardiac function and reduces scar size, suggesting promising potential for clinical translation in cardiovascular disease.