Influence of cholesterol content on the detailed internal structure of LNPs

There has been a shift in the pharma industry towards development of medicines acting within the cell, typically in the cytosol, thereby creating demand for advanced delivery vehicles, including lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) that deliver their payload intracellularly. Generally, these vehicles are taken into the cell's endosome via a process known as endocytosis. In order for the therapeutic agent to exert its effect, the vehicle (and its payload) must escape the endosome. Currently only 2% of vehicles are released into the cytosol. This study wishes to determine the effect of the concentration of cholesterol on the detailed internal structure of LNPs using small angle neutron scattering in combination with contrast variation in order to determine how much cholesterol is required for LNP production and in this way develop improved delivery LNPs.