School of Pharmacy PhD Researchers Publish Novel Findings on Polymeric DNA Delivery Systems

1 May 2025

PhD researchers Aida López Espinar and Lianne Mulder, under the supervision of Dr Piotr Kowalski, have published new research in ACS Applied Biomaterials examining polymer-lipid nanoparticles for mRNA delivery. 

The open-access publication, "Tailoring Alkyl Side Chains of Ionizable Amino-Polyesters for Enhanced In Vivo mRNA Delivery," is available here.

Key Findings:

• Alkyl Tail Design vs. Polymer Chain Composition: While alkyl tail optimization in ionizable lipids was well-documented, the influence of polymer chain composition on lipid-excipient interactions, mRNA delivery efficiency, and tissue targeting remained poorly understood.
• Systematic Evaluation of APEs: To address this gap, the study systematically assessed how alkyl side chain composition in ionizable amino polyesters (APEs) affects the design of polymer-lipid hybrid nanoparticles for mRNA delivery to non-liver tissues.
• Low-MW APEs as Lipid Alternatives: The research further demonstrated that low-molecular-weight APEs could serve as viable alternatives to traditional ionizable lipids in lipid nanoparticle (LNP) formulations.

Research Context:
This work was conducted through the School of Pharmacy with support from APC Microbiome Ireland, GeneGut, Health Research Board (HRB), and the European Research Council (ERC).