Conceptual rationale for the use of chemically modified nanocomposites for active influence on atherosclerosis using the greater omentum model of experimental animals Shamil Akhmedov, PhD, MD a,* , Ivan Stepanov, MD a , Sergey Afanasyev, PhD, MD a , Sergei Tverdokhlebov, PhD b , Victor Filimonov, PhD c , Nikolay Kamenshchikov, MD a , Anatoly Yermakov, PhD d , Suowen Xu, PhD e , Natalia Afanasyeva, MD a , Boris Kozlov, PhD, MD a a Cardiology Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, 634012 Tomsk, Russia b School of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia c Kizhner Research Center, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk 634050, Russia d M.N. Miheev Institute of Metal Physics of Ural Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences,620108 Ekaterinburg, Russia e University of Science and Technology of China, Laboratory of Metabolics and Cardiovascular Diseases Institute of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, Hefei 230027, China A R T I C L E INFO Keywords: Atherosclerosis Atherosclerotic plaque Nanocomposite Chemically modified carbon-coated iron nano- particle Coronary stent ABSTRACT The use of chemically modified nanocomposites for atherosclerotic plaques can open up new opportunities for studying their effect on changing the structure of the plaque itself. It was shown on the model of the greater omentum of two groups of experimental animals (rats n = 30), which were implanted with Fe@C NPs nano- composites of 10–30 Nm size into the omentum area. Group 1 (n = 15) consisted of animals that were implanted with chemically modified Fe@C NPs nanocomposites and control group 2 (n = 15) was with non-modified Fe@C NPs nanocomposites. After 1, 2 and 3 weeks we conducted the morphological study of changes in the structure of the omentum using two dyes (Nile Blue and Sudan III), which are specific for adipose tissue. Chemically modified nanocomposites have demonstrated, in contrast to non-modified nanoparticles, to cause morphological changes in the structure of the greater omentum accompanied by the probable release of a similar antiatherogenic factor. Background Atherosclerosis is well known as the main cause of cardiovascular diseases and high mortality. Today, cardiac surgeons and cardiologists around the world, using the most modern diagnostic imaging methods, observe atherosclerotic plaques form and grow on the walls of the coronary arteries, which sooner or later lead to the development of coronary artery disease. Coronary artery bypass grafting and coronary artery stenting are mod- ern methods of choice for palliative treatment of coronary artery disease with an annual growth trend of these interventions. The growing rate of such interventions has shown the risks of long-term complications, which are very often observed in the group of patients after coronary stenting. 1 Regardless of the type of coronary stent inserted in the coro- nary artery, there is often hyperproliferation of the endothelial layer of the coronary artery and continued growth of atherosclerotic plaque in- side the vessel with the formation of central or marginal restenosis, which can lead to thrombosis of the coronary artery at the site of stent insertion. 2 This is explained by the fact that the insertion of a coronary stent neither eliminate the atherosclerotic plaque itself nor the cause of its appearance and growth. The plaque that remains behind the outer wall of the coronary stent continues its further growth, using the entire known complex of growth factors that occur at the cellular and molec- ular levels. 1,2,3 Such patients may clinically experience recurrent angina with a risk of myocardial infarction and sudden cardiac death. This in vivo study is a continuation of our previous series of work aimed at collecting additional evidence supporting our concept that chemically modified Fe@C NPs nanocomposites have the property of interacting with atherosclerotic plaques in vitro. It has been shown that * Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: shamil@cardio-tomsk.ru (S. Akhmedov), tursky@cardio-tomsk.ru (S. Afanasyev), tverd@tpu.ru (S. Tverdokhlebov), filimonov@tpu.ru (V. Filimonov), sxu1984@ustc.edu.cn (S. Xu). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology, and Medicine journal homepage: www.sciencedirect.com/journal/nanomedicine-nanotechnology- biology-and-medicine https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nano.2024.102787 Received in revised form 20 June 2024; Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology, and Medicine 62 (2024) 102787 Available online 27 September 2024 1549-9634/© 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.