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. 2021 Aug 26;5(3):031511. doi: 10.1063/5.0057204

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© 2021 Author(s).

All article content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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FIG. 4. — Lipid NPs technology for the delivery of SARS-CoV-2-based mRNA. The delivery of mRNA requires a delivery system that protects the nucleic acids to be degraded by RNAses or the immune cells, because they are negatively charged and have large size. Both Pfizer/BioNTech (BNT162b2) and Moderna (mRNA1273) nanomedicine vaccines have similar compositions: (1) ionizable cationic lipids, that when in low pH are positively charged, thus allowing the complexation with nucleic acids, while at physiological pH have neutral charge, reducing possible side effects; (2) PEGylated lipids, that reduce opsonization and clearance; (3) helper lipids, that promote cell binding; (4) cholesterol, to mechanically stabilize the nanoparticle by occupying the gaps between the lipids. ALC-0159, 2-[(polyethylene glycol)-2000]-N,N-ditetradecylacetamide; DMG-PEG 2000, 1,2-dimyristoyl-rac-glycero-3-methoxypolyethylene glycol-2000; ALC-0315 ((4-hydroxybutyl)azanediyl) bis(hexane-6,1-diyl)bis(2-hexyldecanoate); SM-102, heptadecan-9-yl 8-((2-hydroxyethyl)(6-oxo-6-(undecyloxy)hexyl)amino)octanoate; DSPC, phospholipid distearoylphosphatidylcholine.