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Tae H, Park S, Tan LY, Yang C, Lee YA, Choe Y, Wüstefeld T, Jung S, Cho NJ. Elucidating Structural Configuration of Lipid Assemblies for mRNA Delivery Systems. ACS NANO 2024; 18:11284-11299. [PMID: 38639114 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.4c00587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/20/2024]
Abstract
The development of mRNA delivery systems utilizing lipid-based assemblies holds immense potential for precise control of gene expression and targeted therapeutic interventions. Despite advancements in lipid-based gene delivery systems, a critical knowledge gap remains in understanding how the biophysical characteristics of lipid assemblies and mRNA complexes influence these systems. Herein, we investigate the biophysical properties of cationic liposomes and their role in shaping mRNA lipoplexes by comparing various fabrication methods. Notably, an innovative fabrication technique called the liposome under cryo-assembly (LUCA) cycle, involving a precisely controlled freeze-thaw-vortex process, produces distinctive onion-like concentric multilamellar structures in cationic DOTAP/DOPE liposomes, in contrast to a conventional extrusion method that yields unilamellar liposomes. The inclusion of short-chain DHPC lipids further modulates the structure of cationic liposomes, transforming them from multilamellar to unilamellar structures during the LUCA cycle. Furthermore, the biophysical and biological evaluations of mRNA lipoplexes unveil that the optimal N/P charge ratio in the lipoplex can vary depending on the structure of initial cationic liposomes. Cryo-EM structural analysis demonstrates that multilamellar cationic liposomes induce two distinct interlamellar spacings in cationic lipoplexes, emphasizing the significant impact of the liposome structures on the final structure of mRNA lipoplexes. Taken together, our results provide an intriguing insight into the relationship between lipid assembly structures and the biophysical characteristics of the resulting lipoplexes. These relationships may open the door for advancing lipid-based mRNA delivery systems through more streamlined manufacturing processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyunhyuk Tae
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Singapore
| | - Soohyun Park
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Singapore
| | - Li Yang Tan
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore 138673, Singapore
- Department of Psychological Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119228, Singapore
| | - Chungmo Yang
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Singapore
| | - Yong-An Lee
- Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 60 Biopolis Street, Singapore 138672, Singapore
| | - Younghwan Choe
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Singapore
| | - Torsten Wüstefeld
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637551, Singapore
- Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 60 Biopolis Street, Singapore 138672, Singapore
- School of Biological Science, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637551, Singapore
| | - Sangyong Jung
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore 138673, Singapore
- Department of Medical Science, College of Medicine, CHA University, Seongnam 13488, Republic of Korea
| | - Nam-Joon Cho
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Singapore
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Mineev KS, Volynsky PE, Galimzyanov TR, Tretiakova DS, Bobrov MY, Alekseeva AS, Boldyrev IA. Archaeal cyclopentane fragment in a surfactant's hydrophobic tail decreases the Krafft point. SOFT MATTER 2020; 16:1333-1341. [PMID: 31934706 DOI: 10.1039/c9sm02000d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Archaea are prokaryotic microorganisms famous for their ability to adapt to extreme environments, including low and high temperatures. Archaeal lipids often are macrocycles with two polar heads and a hydrophobic core that contains methyl groups and in-line cycles. Here we present the design of novel general-purpose surfactants that have inherited features of archaeal lipids. These are C12 and C14 carboxylic acids containing in-line cyclopentanes. The cyclopentanes disturb the chain packing, which results in remarkable expansion of the operational range of the surfactant into the low-temperature region. We report synthesis and properties of these novel archaea-like surfactants and details of their chain packing derived from thermodynamics model predictions, molecular dynamics simulations, and experimental data on CMC and Krafft points.
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Affiliation(s)
- Konstantin S Mineev
- Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 117997, Russia.
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