Extracellular vesicles
Synthetic nanomedicines include popular drug delivery veicles like liposomes, micelles and polymers. We use these systems to target conventional drug molecules. In addition, we have strong interest in the delivery of nucleic acids. Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are currently the most clinically advanced nonviral carriers for the delivery of therapeutic nucleic acids. Free nucleic acids suffer from unfavorable physicochemical characteristics and rapid clearance mechanisms, hampering the ability to reach the cytoplasm of target cells when administered intravenously. As a result, the therapeutic use of nucleic acids is crucially dependent on delivery strategies. LNPs can encapsulate nucleic acids to protect them from degradative endonucleases in the circulation, prevent kidney/liver clearance, and provide a vehicle to deliver them in the cell and induce its subsequent release into the cytoplasm. Currently, the development of rapid‐mixing platforms for the reproducible and scalable manufacturing has facilitated entry of LNPs into the clinic. In addition we explore novel carrier materials for these therapeutic modalities.