Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a flexible, programmable drug-delivery patch that can be placed directly on the heart after a heart attack to promote healing and regenerate cardiac tissue. The innovative patch can carry multiple drugs, releasing each at specific times according to a pre-programmed schedule.
In studies conducted on rats, the treatment reduced damaged heart tissue by 50% and significantly improved cardiac function, offering hope for a breakthrough therapy that could help heart attack patients recover more effectively than current methods allow.
Aiming to Restore Lost Heart Function
“When someone suffers a major heart attack, the damaged cardiac tissue doesn’t regenerate effectively, leading to a permanent loss of heart function,” explained Ana Jaklenec, Principal Investigator at MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. “Our goal is to restore that function and help people regain a stronger, more resilient heart after a myocardial infarction.”
Jaklenec and Robert Langer, the David H. Koch Institute Professor at MIT, are the senior authors of the study, which was recently published in Cell Biomaterials. Erika Wang, a former MIT postdoctoral researcher, served as the paper’s lead author.
Designing a Timed Drug-Delivery System
Following a heart attack, patients often undergo bypass surgery to improve blood flow. However, this procedure does not repair the damaged heart tissue. To address this limitation, the MIT team designed a patch that can be applied during surgery, delivering a timed sequence of drugs to the site of injury and promoting gradual healing.
“We wanted to deliver a precisely orchestrated therapeutic intervention directly to the site of damage while the surgeon is already operating,” Jaklenec noted.
To achieve this, researchers adapted their earlier microparticle drug-delivery system. These microparticles, made of PLGA polymer, act like tiny capsules that can hold drugs and release them when their outer layers degrade. By adjusting the molecular weight of the polymers, the team controlled how quickly each batch broke down—allowing the patch to release drugs at specific intervals: days 1–3, days 7–9, and days 12–14 after implantation.
Targeted Drug Sequence for Cardiac Repair
The team developed a three-phase drug regimen to mirror the body’s natural healing process:
- Phase 1 (Days 1–3): Release of neuregulin-1, a growth factor that prevents cell death.
- Phase 2 (Days 7–9): Release of VEGF, which stimulates blood vessel formation around the heart.
- Phase 3 (Days 12–14): Release of GW788388, a small molecule that prevents scar tissue formation.
“When tissue regenerates, it follows a carefully timed sequence,” Jaklenec said. “Dr. Wang created a system that delivers key components at just the right time, in the order the body naturally uses to heal.”
Embedding Technology into a Flexible Hydrogel
As reported by medicalxpress, the researchers embedded these drug-releasing particles into thin, flexible hydrogel sheets made from alginate and PEGDA, both biocompatible materials that gradually degrade inside the body. Each miniature patch, just a few millimeters wide, can be surgically implanted on the heart.
“We encapsulate the microparticle arrays in a hydrogel patch and surgically implant it,” explained Erika Wang. “This approach effectively programs the treatment directly into the material.”
Improved Heart Function in Animal Tests
The researchers tested the patches on lab-grown heart tissue and in rat models of heart attack. When applied to damaged heart tissue, the patch promoted blood vessel growth, enhanced cell survival, and reduced fibrosis.
In rats, the patch led to a 33% higher survival rate, a 50% reduction in damaged tissue, and significant improvements in cardiac output compared to untreated animals or those given intravenous drug injections. Over time, the patch safely dissolved into a thin layer, without interfering with heart function.
“This approach combines drug delivery and biomaterials in a powerful way to develop new treatments for patients,” said Robert Langer.
Toward Clinical Applications
Of the drugs tested, neuregulin-1 and VEGF have already undergone clinical trials for heart disease, while GW788388 has been studied only in animals. The MIT team plans to expand testing in larger animal models before moving to human clinical trials.
Currently, the patch must be surgically implanted, but the researchers are exploring ways to integrate the drug-delivery microparticles into stents, which could be inserted via arteries to deliver drugs on a pre-set schedule—potentially making this therapy minimally invasive.
If successful in humans, this programmable heart patch could revolutionize cardiac care by enabling targeted, time-controlled healing after heart attacks—bringing patients closer to true cardiac regeneration rather than merely symptom management.