Events

Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are the most successful RNA delivery carriers to date and are used in FDA-approved products like the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. Expanding LNP-based therapies hinges on efficient delivery to a variety of tissues and cells, a process often hindered by endosomal entrapment. It is well known that depending on lipid molecular properties, LNPs assemble into different nanostructures, but how these impart the mechanisms of endosomal escape remains unknown. We demonstrate that combining lipid composition with nanostructure synergistically impacts not only the extent of LNP endosomal escape but also the mechanisms of endosomal disruption. Specifically, LNP structure can boost fusogenicity to target membranes which is preferred compared to endosomal membrane puncturing. LNP–RNA complexes prescribed with bicontinuous cubic and inverse hexagonal internal structures facilitate the topological transition of LNP–endosome fusion-pore formation. We show that nanostructure and composition are potent handles to engineer highly efficient LNPs for cell-specific delivery of gene editing agents to cells.

Cecilia Leal is a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Bioengineering, and Carle Illinois College of Medicine at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Cecilia graduated in Industrial Chemistry (a Chemistry and Chemical Engineering joint major) at the University of Coimbra, Portugal and received a PhD in Physical Chemistry at the University of Lund, Sweden under the supervision of Håkan Wennerström. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Santa Barbara in the group of Cyrus Safinya before starting her appointment at UIUC in 2012. Cecilia received the Provost Distinguished Promotion Award for Full (2024) & Associate (2019) Professors, the 2023 University Scholar Award, the Dean's Award for Excellence in Research for Associate (2021) and Assistant (2018) Professors, and the 2016 NIH Director’s New Innovator and NSF CAREER Awards. Cecilia is often in the list of excellent teachers ranked by her students and received the 2022 College Award for Sustained Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

 *Refreshments will be provided plus a chance to talk with the speaker after their seminar till 5pm.