Understanding the structure of novel RNA-Lipid nanoparticles using SANS

The recent Covid-19 pandemic has shown both the efficacy and need to develop effective vaccines and drug delivery. One technology which has been very effective at this uses lipid nanoparticles. These are small particles in which the lipid layer allows us to target the immune system. The nanoparticles are used to deliver a dose of mRNA. The exact dose held depends upon the encapsulation properties of the nanoparticle. We propose using SANS to look at the properties of a novel lipid nanoparticle system to determine how this system is able to encpsulate a high degree of mRNA and also remain very stable over a long period of time, contrary to other systems which require freezing.

近期新冠疫情（COVID-19）大流行既凸显了开发高效疫苗与药物递送技术的迫切需求，也印证了该类技术的实际功效。其中在该领域成效显著的一项技术便是脂质纳米粒（lipid nanoparticles）。这类颗粒尺寸微小，其脂质外层可实现对免疫系统的靶向递送，用于递送一定剂量的信使核糖核酸（mRNA）。纳米粒所负载的精准剂量，取决于其包封性能。本研究提出采用小角中子散射（Small-Angle Neutron Scattering, SANS）技术，对一种新型脂质纳米粒体系的特性展开系统探究，旨在阐明该体系可高效包封mRNA且能长期保持稳定的内在机制——这与其他需低温冻存的纳米粒体系形成鲜明对比。