The current state of the art in the field
Plaque degradation has been shown by R. erythropolis. The bacteria were encapsulated in alginate-based articifial cells (inkjet bioprinted and atomized). This strain produces cholesterolase and the encapsulated bacteria were shown to degrade cholesterol in vitro (Link). No known in vivo system with this sort of an approach yet.
Drawbacks included the production of H2O2. Cholesterol is also not the only component of arterial plaques (though a major one); would it be enough just to degrade cholesterol?
How a synbio approach might have an impact on solving the problem
- Optimize encapsulation
- Alginate (has it been used in vitro before?)
- Cellulose sulphate ( "has been used to manufacture encapsulated cells as a pharmaceutical product at large scale and fulfilling Good Manufacturing Process (cGMP) standards. This was achieved by the company Austrianova in 2007.[49]" - Wikipedia)
- Inkjet vs. Atomization vs. ??
Sensing system - how to localize the product (find the plaque and stay there) and target the plaque specifically
Some possible ways forward + feasibility
(sorry I'm such a wiki-failure =\ I'll learn this!)