Abstract

Synthetic Lipid Nanocarriers: From Liposomes to Lipid Nanoparticles

Raymond Schiffelers, Professor of Nanomedicine, University Medical Center Utrecht

2023 marks the sixtieth birthday of ‘liposomes’. These structures were shown to spontaneously form when amphiphilic lipids were brought in an aqueous environment. In the next decades, many lessons were learned on the biomedical applications of liposomes on the effects of liposome size and surface charge, on steric stabilization and lipid composition, on targeting and immune evasion. Tens of liposome-based products are currently marketed or in advanced stages of clinical development. The most recent addition to the clinically used nanocarriers are the lipid nanoparticles for the delivery of nucleic acids. Building on the foundations of liposomes, these newest type of particles have been successfully used in the siRNA-product patisiran. This recipe also formed the basis for the mRNA COVID-vaccines. These successes paved the way for many new applications where synthetic lipid nanoparticles enable new nucleic acid modalities for advanced therapeutic interventions.