Despite decades of research, as recently as a few years ago, hardly anyone knew what a lipid nanoparticle (LNP) was, now hundreds of millions of us have safely received injections of these particles. In a landmark for medicine, the two mRNA Covid-19 vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna, both rely on surrounding mRNA in tiny lipids packages, or lipid nanoparticles. The use of these LNPs had only recently been approved in medicine (the first drug to use them, Patisiran, was approved in 2018). While mRNA often gets the press, getting RNA inside of cells has been historically challenging because RNA is fragile. Without lipid nanoparticle technology, RNA would not get taken up by our cells, and would instead get broken down before being translated into the proteins we need to stimulate our immune system against Sars-Cov-2/ Covid-19.

Understanding how and why lipids and membranes work is one of the key topics discussed in General Biology I this week. SU Biology faculty member, Dr. Kyle Peet, enjoys making connections between fundamental biology and cutting edge research. In prior research experiences, Dr. Peet investigated how membrane modifications could enable bacteria to survive stressful conditions. I find membrane lipids to be an under-appreciated area of biology. As our knowledge of biology has expanded, we are realizing the promise that LNP and RNA-based biotechnology has. To name a few: mRNA-based vaccines, siRNA- small interfering RNA therapies, and CRISPR-Cas gene editing all rely on RNA delivery into organisms with lipid nanoparticles. Challenges remain in designing lipid nanoparticles that can safely target specific tissues and organs, and dealing with the notorious 'cold-chain' storage issues that prevent more widespread delivery to countries without this infrastructure. One thing is certain: it has been exciting to learn about the development of these highly customizable lipid nanoparticles their RNA cargo.