Rewriting the mRNA Delivery Map: Albumin Hitchhiking Lipid Nanoparticles for Safer and Smarter Nanomedicine
High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide LNPs are the basis of mRNA and nucleic acid-based therapeutics. However, their remarkable clinical potential is limited by a persistent challenge, i.e., nonspecific accumulation in the liver and associated hepatotoxicity. Traditional strategies, such as PEGylation and lipid ionization modification, have reached a point of low therapeutic value-add to control biodistribution. Recently published studies present an innovative concept: LNPs that recruit albumin, exploiting interactions with endogenous albumin to avoid liver accumulation and simultaneously improve delivery through the lymphatic system for immune-modulation. This review provides a concise incursion into such strategies that redefine stealth nanomedicine, not as chemical camouflage but as a biological alliance with plasma transport proteins, paving the way for a new paradigm of self-protecting nanocarriers for safer and more precise mRNA therapeutics.
Authors
- Yahya Essop Choonara (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3889-1529)
- Md. Faiyazuddin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3455-8443)
- Usama Ahmad (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2836-1874)
- Abdul Shadab (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-9794-1390)
Institutions
- Integral University (IN)
- University of the Witwatersrand (ZA)
- Advanced Pharma (US)
- Centre for Global Health Research (CA)
- Saveetha University (IN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- ACS Materials Au
- Published
- 2026-06-18
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acsmaterialsau.6c00068
- Primary Topic
- RNA Interference and Gene Delivery
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00