On the size-regulation of RNA-loaded lipid nanoparticles synthesized by microfluidic device

The use of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) for nucleic acid delivery is now becoming a promising strategy with a number of clinical trials as vaccines or as novel therapies against a variety of genetic and infectious diseases. The use of microfluidics for the synthesis of the LNPs has attracted interest because of its considerable advantages over other conventional synthetic methods including scalability, reproducibility, and speed. However, despite the potential usefulness of large particles for nucleic acid delivery to dendritic cells (DCs) as a vaccine, the particle size of the LNPs prepared using microfluidics is typically limited to approximately from 30 to 100 nm. In this study, focusing on Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) theory, the effect of some synthetic parameters, including total flow rate, flow rate ratio, buffer pH, lipid concentration, molar ratio of PEG-lipid as well as salt concentration, on particle size was systematically examined by means of the design of experiment approaches. The findings indicated that the simple addition of salt (e.g. NaCl) to a buffer containing nucleic acids contributed greatly to the synthesis of large LNPs over 200 nm and this effect was concentration-dependent with respect to the salt. The effect of salt on particle size was consistent with a Hofmeister series. The systemic injection of larger mRNA-loaded LNPs resulted in a higher transgene expression in mouse splenic DCs, a higher activation of various splenic immune cells, and had a superior effect as a therapeutic cancer vaccine in a syngeneic mouse model compared to the smaller-sized counterpart with constant lipid composition prepared with lower NaCl concentration. Collectively, size-regulation by the simple addition of salt is a promising strategy for developing potent LNPs.