Surface Modification of Lipid-Based Nanoparticles

Abstract

There is a growing interest in the development of lipid-based nanocarriers for multiple purposes, including the recent increase of these nanocarriers as vaccine components during the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of studies that involve the surface modification of nanocarriers to improve their performance (increase the delivery of a therapeutic to its target site with less off-site accumulation) is enormous. The present review aims to provide an overview of various methods associated with lipid nanoparticle grafting, including techniques used to separate grafted nanoparticles from unbound ligands or to characterize grafted nanoparticles. We also provide a critical perspective on the usefulness and true impact of these modifications on overcoming different biological barriers, with our prediction on what to expect in the near future in this field.

The Transcriptional Response to Lung-Targeting Lipid Nanoparticles in Vivo

“…8,9 A second is to add active targeting ligands to nanoparticles. 10 For example, mRNA-loaded LNPs were targeted to Ly6c + leukocytes utilizing antibodies that were anchored into the lipid membrane. 11 In another example, plasmalemma vesicleassociated protein-targeting LNPs were covalently conjugated with antibodies, which increased lung protein expression.…”

“…Scientists use three approaches to increase nonliver mRNA delivery. One is to pretreat animals with drugs that block the liver from taking up LNPs or reduce the activity of mRNA once it reaches hepatocytes. , A second is to add active targeting ligands to nanoparticles . For example, mRNA-loaded LNPs were targeted to Ly6c + leukocytes utilizing antibodies that were anchored into the lipid membrane .…”

Writing Excellent Review Articles

“…Immunology has a lot of acronyms and unfamiliar terms for our journal audience, so we encouraged the authors to develop a vocabulary table to help our readers learn about this fascinating field. Providing vocabulary tables has been a tradition used in ACS Nano ’s review articles since 2015. − Additionally, complex concepts can be more readily described in figures rather than text, making them accessible to a broader community. Effective figures need a clean central message, free of distracting excess information.…”

mRNA therapy for myocardial infarction: A review of targets and delivery vehicles

“…Numerous surface modification methods have been developed to improve the cell-specificity of lipid nanoparticles, for example, increasing the surface charge and conjugating ligands. Detailed reviews of lipid nanoparticle surface modification can be found in other articles (Kularatne et al, 2022;Xu et al, 2022). These methods may provide cues for designing heart-specific lipid nanoparticles.…”