Table 1.

LNP lipid components and their functions.

Lipid components	Functions	Examples
Ionizable lipid	- Nucleic acids complexation - Membrane fusion	- ALC-0315 (Pfizer/BioNTech) - SM-102 (Moderna)
Phospholipid	- Complex support - Provides highly stable structure (saturated lipids) and endosome destabilization (unsaturated lipids)	- DSPC, DPPC (saturated lipid) - DOPE (unsaturated lipid)
Cholesterol	- Integrity - Endosomal release	- Cholesterol
PEGylated lipid	- Hydrophilic surface - Steric hindrance - “Stealth” effect	- ALC-0159 (Pfizer/BioNTech) - PEG-DMG (Moderna)