Lipid Nanoparticle (LNPs) Development Services

Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), as a promising carrier of various therapeutic agents, have attracted much attention in the pharmaceutical industry. With their ability to encapsulate and deliver therapeutics to specific locations within the body and to release their contents at a desired time, LNPs provide a valuable platform for treatment of a variety of diseases. The first RNAi drug (Patisiran) uses lipid nanoparticles and was approved by FDA in 2018. Currently in the spotlight as a vital component of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, LNPs play a key role in effectively protecting and transporting mRNA to cells. The timeline of LNPs advancement and examples of FDA-approved LNP drugs are shown in Fig.1. Moreover, LNPs are also being used in other fields, such as medical imaging, cosmetics, nutrition, agriculture and nanoreactors ^[1]. The design and development of LNPs will facilitate the rapid development of these fields, especially in the field of gene therapy, which has practical significance. Alfa Chemistry's decades of experience on LNPs development can provide various LNPs design and formula modification services based on customer requirements for various studies and applications.

Fig.1 The timeline of LNPs advancement (Upper part) and examples of FDA-approved LNP drugs (Lower part)

Our Services

Alfa Chemistry has tight connections with both academia and industry and serve various industries. We will contribute to the design and development of LNPs in various fields, including:

• Drug delivery: Development of LPNs for antitumor and nucleic acid therapeutics and vaccine delivery systems
• Medical imaging: Development of LPNs for enhancing the imaging resolution and specificity
• Cosmetics: Development of LPNs for enhancing stability and efficacy of cosmetics formulations
• Nutrition: Development of LPNs for controlling the delivery of functional components such as proteins, enzymes, vitamins, and flavors
• Nanoreactors: Development of LPNs as nanoreactors for the size-controlled synthesis of metal nanoparticles

At the same time, according to the needs of our customers, our lipid experts will design different types of LPNs, including:

Fig.2 Schematic presentation of a solid lipid nanoparticle (left) and a nanostructured lipid carrier (right)

In addition, we also provide the design and development of functionalized modified LNPs. These LNPs will further improve the targeting selectivity, blood circulation time, and stability. The functionalized modified LNPs include:

• Targeted liposomes: Targeted liposomes are designed with surface-attached ligands to recognize and bind to specific receptors on cells.
• "Stealth" liposomes: The liposomes are coated with biocompatible inert polymers, typically poly-(ethylene glycol) (PEG), making them invisible to phagocytes.
• Stimuli-Responsive liposomes: The liposomes can release encapsulated drugs controllably when exposed to physicochemical or biochemical stimuli.

Fig.3 Schematic presentation of a targeted liposomes (left) and “stealth” liposomes (right)

Advantages of LPNs

LNPs are mainly used to deliver RNA drugs, vaccines or gene editing tools. Compared with other types of nucleic acid drug delivery systems, LNPs has many advantages:

• High and stable nucleic acid encapsulation efficiency and potent transfection
• Enhanced delivery efficiency to disease targets with formidable blood-brain or plasma membrane barriers
• Low cytotoxicity and immunogenicity
• Extended pharmacokinetics and reduced off-target side effects

LNPs Development Workflow

Reference

1. Tenchov R., et al. Lipid Nanoparticles ─ From Liposomes to mRNA Vaccine Delivery, a Landscape of Research Diversity and Advancement[J]. ACS Nano, 2021, 15(11): 16982-17015.