Time-resolved small-angle neutron scattering for characterization of molecular exchange in lipid nanoparticle therapeutics.

Hypothesis: Nano-scale dynamics of self-assembled therapeutics play a large role in their biological function. However, assessment of such dynamics remains absent from conventional pharmaceutical characterization. We hypothesize that time-resolved small-angle neutron scattering (TR-SANS) can reveal their kinetic properties. For lipid nanoparticles (LNP), limited molecular motion is important for avoiding degradation prior to entering cells while, intracellularly, enhanced molecular motion is then vital for effective endosomal escape. We propose TR-SANS for quantifying molecular exchange in LNPs and, therefore, enabling optimization of opposing molecular behaviors of a pharmaceutical in two distinct environments.
Experiments: We use TR-SANS in combination with traditional SANS and small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) to experimentally quantify nano-scale dynamics and provided unprecedented insight to molecular behavior of LNPs.
Findings: LNPs have molecular exchange dynamics relevant to storage and delivery which can be captured using TR-SANS. Cholesterol exchanges on the time-scale of hours even at neutral pH. As pH drops below the effective pKa of the ionizable lipid, molecular exchange occurs faster. The results give insight into behavior enabling delivery and provide a quantifiable metric by which to compare formulations. Successful analysis of this multi-component system also expands the opportunities for using TR-SANS to characterize complex therapeutics.
Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Lilo D. Pozzo reports financial support and equipment, drugs, or supplies were provided by National Science Foundation. Shayna L. Hilburg reports financial support was provided by National Science Foundation. Shayna L. Hilburg reports equipment, drugs, or supplies was provided by Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) via Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering (ACNS) Proposal 15396. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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