NR Study of Helper Lipid Effect on Interaction between Lipid Nanoparticles and a Model Lipid Bilayer Mimicking Endosome Membrane

LNP has become one of the hottest topics during the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19 due to their application as the gene delivery vector for both the Pfizer–BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines. LNPs are internalised by the cells through endocytosis and the endosomal escape process releases the payloads: this process is often the major bottleneck in achieving high cell transfections. Neutron reflection is particularly powerful to study the interaction between the LNPs and a model supported lipid bilayer (SLB) mimicking an endosome membrane. The aim of this study is to determine how different lipids help mediate the interaction of LNPs with lipid membrane bilayer, mimicking an important step in endocytosis, as a function of crucial factors such as temperature and solution pH.