Issue 2, 2022

Optimization of phospholipid chemistry for improved lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery of messenger RNA (mRNA)

Abstract

Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) have been established as an essential platform for nucleic acid delivery. Efforts have led to the development of vaccines that protect against SARS-CoV-2 infection using LNPs to deliver messenger RNA (mRNA) coding for the viral spike protein. Out of the four essential components that comprise LNPs, phospholipids represent an underappreciated opportunity for fundamental and translational study. We investigated this avenue by systematically modulating the identity of the phospholipid in LNPs with the goal of identifying specific moieties that directly enhance or hinder delivery efficacy. Results indicate that phospholipid chemistry can enhance mRNA delivery by increasing membrane fusion and enhancing endosomal escape. Phospholipids containing phosphoethanolamine (PE) head groups likely increase endosomal escape due to their fusogenic properties. Additionally, it was found that zwitterionic phospholipids mainly aided liver delivery, whereas negatively charged phospholipids changed the tropism of the LNPs from liver to spleen. These results demonstrate that the choice of phospholipid plays a role intracellularly by enhancing endosomal escape, while also driving organ tropism in vivo. These findings were then applied to Selective Organ Targeting (SORT) LNPs to manipulate and control spleen-specific delivery. Overall, selection of the phospholipid in LNPs provides an important handle to design and optimize LNPs for improved mRNA delivery and more effective therapeutics.

Graphical abstract: Optimization of phospholipid chemistry for improved lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery of messenger RNA (mRNA)

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
16 sep 2021
Accepted
22 nov 2021
First published
30 nov 2021

Biomater. Sci., 2022,10, 549-559

Author version available

Optimization of phospholipid chemistry for improved lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery of messenger RNA (mRNA)

E. Álvarez-Benedicto, L. Farbiak, M. Márquez Ramírez, X. Wang, L. T. Johnson, O. Mian, E. D. Guerrero and D. J. Siegwart, Biomater. Sci., 2022, 10, 549 DOI: 10.1039/D1BM01454D

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