Advanced RNA delivery solutions for research,
diagnostics and therapeutic applications
Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are a key technology for delivering nucleic acids like mRNA, protecting them from degradation and facilitating cellular uptake. As self-assembling colloidal structures with diameters typically between 80 and 150 nm, LNPs encapsulate RNA cargoes within a lipid core, shielding them from ubiquitous RNases in biological fluids and enabling efficient intracellular delivery.
The landmark approval of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines demonstrated the clinical potential of LNP technology at unprecedented scale. Today, LNPs are the delivery platform of choice for mRNA vaccines, mRNA protein replacement therapies, siRNA gene silencing agents, and self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) constructs.
Ionizable lipids are the functional heart of the LNP. Their amino headgroups become positively charged enabling electrostatic interaction with the negatively charged RNA backbone and driving self-assembly. Inside endosomes (pH 5–6), protonation triggers membrane destabilisation and endosomal escape — the critical step that releases cargo into the cytoplasm.
Structural lipids provide bilayer stability and contribute to the lamellar architecture of the particle shell.
Cholesterol is a key modulator of membrane fluidity and rigidity. It intercalates between lipid tails, reducing membrane permeability and improving particle stability. Cholesterol content also influences the in vivo biodistribution profile — higher levels tend to favour hepatic uptake.
PEG-lipids coat the outer surface of the LNP with hydrophilic polyethylene glycol chains. This stealth layer prevents premature aggregation, reduces opsonisation and non-specific protein adsorption in vivo, and prolongs circulation half-life.
LNPs can encapsulate a wide variety of RNA species. Conventional mRNA (typically 1,000–5,000 nt) is translated directly in the cytoplasm to produce the encoded protein — an antigen for vaccination, a replacement enzyme for metabolic disorders, or a therapeutic cytokine. Modified mRNA incorporating pseudouridine (Ψ) or N1-methylpseudouridine (m1Ψ) significantly reduces innate immune activation and increases translational efficiency. Self-amplifying RNA (saRNA), derived from alphavirus replicons, encodes an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase that amplifies the therapeutic RNA inside cells, potentially allowing 10–100-fold lower doses than conventional mRNA. LNPs are also suitable carriers for siRNA and antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) for gene silencing applications.
The versatility, scalability, and proven clinical track record of LNPs make them the leading non-viral delivery platform for RNA therapeutics. Ongoing advances in ionizable lipid design, targeted delivery ligands, and scalable manufacturing are rapidly expanding the addressable therapeutic space — from the liver to the lung, muscle, lymph node, and beyond. Building on these developments, we have developed next-generation LNP formulations (EUFECT®) incorporating proprietary ionizable lipids, designed to overcome the limitations of first-generation benchmark LNP systems and to achieve an improved balance between transfection efficiency and cytotoxicity.
| RNA-Typ | Key Target | Application Area |
|---|---|---|
| mRNA / saRNA | Muscle / Lymph nodes | Vaccines & Immuno-oncology |
| siRNA | Liver (hepatocytes) | Metabolic diseases |
| circRNA | Systemic / Tissue | Long-term therapies |
| mRNA / circ RNA | Cytotoxic T-cells | Personalised tumour therapy in vivo |
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