Liposome Encapsulation Services: mRNA

mRNA vaccines are a new class of nucleic acid vaccines that have been clinically developed with a focus on oncology and infectious diseases, with delivery systems at the core of their development. However, the development of mRNA vaccines is constrained by their poor stability and susceptibility to degradation by nucleases in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, mRNA vaccines need a suitable delivery vector to deliver them to the body for better immunization. Liposomes, which are ultra-miniature spherical vector formulations made by encapsulating drugs in a lipid-like bilayer, are currently the most effective vectors for delivering mRNA. As a contract manufacturer of liposomes, BOC Sciences is committed to producing a wide range of liposomal products for our customers, including mRNA-encapsulated liposomes.

Background

mRNA has attracted much attention in the field of clinical medicine due to its characteristics as follows:

1. The effect of mRNA in the cell is temporary and is degraded after completing its work, with little risk of mutation.
2. With the current technology, once the target in vivo is determined, the discovery and design of mRNA drugs are almost programmed without time-consuming and labor-intensive efforts.
3. The synthesis of mRNA becomes easier and the production cost is greatly reduced.
4. An mRNA drug can express multiple proteins at the same time, which provides unique convenience for multivalent vaccines, such as tumor personalized vaccines, and multi-protein combination drugs. This feature could even be used to design self-replicating mRNA-drug combinations, i.e. target mRNA plus a full set of replicating proteins.

Because of its large molecular weight and negative charge, mRNA cannot freely pass through biological membranes, and mRNA is easily degraded by RNase enzymes in plasma and tissues, quickly cleared by liver and kidney, and recognized by the immune system. Even after entering the cell, it is easy to "stuck" in the endosome and cannot be released and cannot function. Therefore, the main technical obstacle in the development of mRNA drugs is the low efficiency of drug delivery. Only a small amount (0.01%) of mRNA molecules can successfully enter the cytoplasm and express proteins, so large doses of drugs are required, which brings side effects. Therefore, the market urgently needs to develop safer and more effective mRNA delivery vectors or drug delivery systems.

Liposomes are microspherical vectors formed by encapsulating the active ingredient in a lipid-like bilayer. Characteristics of liposomes include:

• Targeting (available in both passive and active targeting).
• Sustained release, which can greatly prolong the duration of action and delay renal excretion and metabolism while reducing toxicity.
• lipid-soluble and water-soluble drug compatibility.
• Liposomal membrane lipids have a high level of safety.
• Increases the stability of encapsulated drugs.

Fig. 1 Representation of the steric organization of a micelle (left), a liposome (center), and a lipid bilayer (right) (Bozzuto G, 2015)

Our Services

BOC Sciences provides liposome-encapsulated mRNA services. Our researchers encapsulated mRNA molecules in liposomes using a thin-film dispersion method.

• Purpose evaluation, design and optimization of liposome-encapsulated mRNA
• Customized liposomes in various sizes, flakes and physicochemical properties
• Excellent service and competitive price

Our Advantages

• Customized liposomes that meet various requirements of customers
• Targeted design and optimization of liposome encapsulated molecules
• Complete liposome test report
• Excellent after-sales service

Our R&D team is constantly developing our services and will provide more types of services in the future. If you have special needs, you can contact us in time, and we can also provide customized services to meet your needs.

Reference

1. Bozzuto G; et al. Liposomes as nanomedical devices. Int J Nanomedicine. 2015 Feb 2; 10:975-99.