Membrane-coated protein nanoparticles for mRNA delivery

Messenger RNA (mRNA) based therapy is becoming a research hot spot in the fight against a wide variety of disease especially COVID-19, however, developing a safe and efficient delivery system to protect mRNA from degradation is a significant challenge. Here, we have designed a novel system based on poly-l-lysine modified bovine serum albumin nanoparticles for the delivery of mRNA. Cationic protein nanoparticles were prepared (BSA-PLL@MCM), followed by coating with macrophage cell membranes to enhance the protective effect and transfection efficiency. The bio nano vector has an excellent safety profile both in vitro and vivo settings and the encapsulated mRNA was successfully delivered in in vitro and in vivo settings. These findings demonstrate that the protein-based nanoparticle can be regarded as an alternative delivery vector for mRNA, thus providing a novel idea for vector development.