Obstruction of critical blood vessels due to thrombosis or embolism is a leading cause of
death worldwide. Here, we describe a biomimetic strategy that uses high shear stress
caused by vascular narrowing as a targeting mechanism—in the same way platelets do—to
deliver drugs to obstructed blood vessels. Microscale aggregates of nanoparticles were
fabricated to break up into nanoscale components when exposed to abnormally high fluid
shear stress. When coated with tissue plasminogen activator and administered …