Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104.
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2023 Aug 15;120(33):e2303567120. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2303567120. Epub 2023 Aug 9.
Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are a potent delivery technology that have made it possible for the recent clinical breakthroughs in mRNA therapeutics and vaccines. A key challenge to the broader implementation of mRNA therapeutics and vaccines is the development of technology to produce precisely defined LNP formulations, with throughput that can scale from discovery to commercial manufacturing and meet the stringent manufacturing standards of the pharmaceutical industry. To address these challenges, we have developed a microfluidic chip that incorporates 1×, 10×, or 256× LNP-generating units that achieve scalable production rates of up to 17 L/h of precisely defined LNPs. Using these chips, we demonstrate that LNP physical properties and potency in vivo are unchanged as throughput is scaled. Our chips are fabricated out of silicon and glass substrates, which have excellent solvent compatibility, compatibility with pharmaceutical manufacturing, and can be fully reset and reused. SARS-CoV-2 mRNA-LNP vaccines formulated by our chips triggered potent antibody responses in a preclinical study. These results demonstrate the feasibility of directly translating microfluidic-generated LNPs to the scale necessary for commercial production.
脂质纳米颗粒 (LNPs) 是一种强大的递送技术,使得 mRNA 疗法和疫苗的近期临床突破成为可能。mRNA 疗法和疫苗更广泛应用的一个关键挑战是开发能够生产精确定义的 LNP 制剂的技术,其通量能够从发现扩展到商业生产,并满足制药行业严格的制造标准。为了解决这些挑战,我们开发了一种微流控芯片,该芯片包含 1×、10× 或 256× 的 LNP 生成单元,可实现高达 17 L/h 的精确定义的 LNPs 的可扩展生产速率。使用这些芯片,我们证明了 LNP 的物理性质和体内效力在通量扩大时保持不变。我们的芯片由硅和玻璃基板制造而成,具有出色的溶剂兼容性、与药物制造的兼容性,并且可以完全重置和重复使用。我们的芯片制备的 SARS-CoV-2 mRNA-LNP 疫苗在临床前研究中引发了强烈的抗体反应。这些结果表明,直接将微流控生成的 LNP 转化为商业生产所需的规模是可行的。
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2023-8-15
Mol Pharm. 2022-4-4
Acc Chem Res. 2022-1-4
Methods Mol Biol. 2024
Expert Opin Drug Deliv. 2022-10
Eur J Pharm Sci. 2022-9-1
Biosensors (Basel). 2025-8-4
Nano Res. 2024-10
Pharmaceutics. 2025-5-4
Adv Sci (Weinh). 2025-8
MedComm (2020). 2025-4-24
Mol Ther. 2025-4-2
Nat Commun. 2022-9-23
Biomicrofluidics. 2022-3-17
Nat Commun. 2021-12-13
Curr Opin Biotechnol. 2022-2
Vaccines (Basel). 2021-9-17
Nat Rev Mater. 2021