Design Strategies for Novel Lipid Nanoparticle for mRNA Vaccine and Therapeutics: Current Understandings and Future Perspectives

Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines have revolutionized infectious disease prevention and cancer immunotherapy due to their rapid development, potent immunogenicity, and flexible design. Central to the clinical success of mRNA vaccines, lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) function as efficient, nonviral delivery systems capable of protecting mRNA and facilitating its uptake by target cells. Recent advances have demonstrated that LNP-formulated mRNA vaccines and therapeutics elicit robust immune responses and confer effective protection against a broad spectrum of pathogens, including viruses and bacteria. Moreover, LNP-based therapies have shown promising therapeutic efficacy in various cancers and rare diseases, as evidenced by both preclinical models and clinical trials. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the key components, structural features, and preparation technologies of LNPs. It further discusses ongoing challenges in LNP design, such as delivery efficiency, tissue targeting, and safety, and proposes rational strategies to address these limitations. Additionally, recent progress in the analytical methods used to characterize the critical quality attributes of LNPs is highlighted. This review aims to guide the rational design of next-generation LNPs and to support the broader application of mRNA-based vaccines and therapeutics.