MISiS, MSU, MIPT and Copenhagen Universit: Methodology for the diagnosis of hypertension in the early stages

The main articles are:

• Hypertension (high pressure)
• Nanoparticles in medicine

2022: Method for detecting early hypertensive changes in blood cells

Russian scientists have proposed a methodology for diagnosing hypertension in the early stages. It is based on the use of silver nanostructures, which make it possible to increase the sensitivity of the study using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. The proposed method allows detecting early hypertensive changes in blood cells and starting treatment in time. The study is published in the journal Biosensors. This was announced by NUST MISIS on July 15, 2022.

Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in the world. One of the main factors in the development of such diseases is high blood pressure, or hypertension (hypertension), which leads to oxygen starvation (hypoxia) of organs and tissues and can cause strokes, heart attacks, vasculopathy and kidney damage .

One of the causes of tissue hypoxia is a violation of vascular elasticity, a decrease in the ability hemoglobin erythrocytes to bind oxygen (in the capillaries of the lungs), transport and give the optimal amount of it in the tissues. These processes depend both on the state of the cell membrane, cell volume, and pathological processes in hemoglobin. Identification and monitoring of molecular processes in such pathologies arising at the cellular level can help in the development of early diagnosis methods, an individual approach to prescribing drugs, taking into account indicators of not only hemodynamics, but also the state of hemoglobin, to increase the effectiveness of treatment and reduce the risk of damage to internal organs. Scientists from NUST MISIS, Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov, MIPT and the University of Copenhagen proposed a technology for the study of red blood cells (red blood cells) in various pathologies using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (CERS) using a colloidal solution of silver nanoparticles and silver nanostructured surfaces to improve the accuracy of spectroscopy.

Nanostructured surfaces were obtained by dissolving 0.3 g of silver nitrate in 40 ml of water. 30 ml of 20% sodium hydroxide solution was added to the resulting solution, the resulting substance was washed and 5 ml of 25% ammonia hydrate and 25 ml of water were added. The resulting solution was then sprayed onto the surfaces of the cover glass and heat treated. It has previously been proven that the use of such nanostructured substrates allows for higher resolution when examining an object using Raman spectroscopy, told one of the authors of the study, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor of the Department of Physical Materials Science of NUST "MISIS" Georgy Maksimov.

The researchers examined blood samples from rats with normal and elevated blood pressure. During the study, it was found that with increased blood pressure, an increase in the viscosity of the plasma membrane of red blood cells is observed. As a possible explanation for this, the authors cite results indicating high levels of cholesterol in the erythrocyte membrane, which is often observed in hypertensive patients. As a result, the researchers concluded that elevated blood cholesterol increases plasma membrane viscosity and disrupts a number of red blood cell functions (changing cell shape, volume, or membrane permeability).

In addition, the use of CERS for the first time allowed scientists to identify a decrease in the mobility of heme hemoglobin in the red blood cells of hypertensive rats. The authors of the study believe that this effect is associated with an increase in the viscosity of the red blood cell membrane in hypertension, since heme hemoglobin sorbs oxygen molecules worse. All this, in turn, leads to disruptions in the supply of oxygen to tissues.

Conducting research in the field of biomaterial science is one of the key activities of NUST MISIS within the framework of the strategic project "Biomedical Materials and Bioengineering." Its key task is to close the gap between the possibilities of medical supplies and the needs of a person to improve the quality of life. Thanks to significant expertise of university scientists in the field of materials science, globally competitive materials and technologies in the field of biomedicine will be created in 2030. noted the rector of NUST "MISIS " Alevtina Chernikova.

Thus, the original method proposed by Russian scientists allows with high resolution and sensitivity to detect changes in the ability of red blood cells to carry oxygen already in the early stages of emerging hypertension. According to the authors of the study, these capabilities need to be used to further develop and improve the methodology for early diagnosis of hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases.