Chongqing Team Adds Peptide Amphiphiles to Lipid Nanoparticles, Steering mRNA to the Spleen at Over 100 Times Liver Levels
Researchers at the Women and Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University built lipid nanoparticles containing two peptide amphiphiles, reporting in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. C16TAT, derived from a cell-penetrating peptide, improved mRNA delivery across several cell lines, while C16HA2, based on an endosome-disrupting peptide, changed the particles' charge and produced more than 100-fold higher mRNA expression in the spleen than in the liver in vivo. Particles with TAT attached to their surface worked in cells but performed worse in animals because they were less stable.