Lipid nanoparticles as carriers for RNAi against viral infections: current status and future perspectives

The efforts made to develop RNAi-based therapies have led to productive research in the field of infections in humans, such as hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), herpetic keratitis, human papillomavirus, or influenza virus. Naked RNAi molecules are rapidly digested by nucleases in the serum, and due to their negative surface charge, entry into the cell cytoplasm is also hampered, which makes necessary the use of delivery systems to exploit the full potential of RNAi therapeutics. Lipid nanoparticles (LNP) represent one of the most widely used delivery systems for in vivo application of RNAi due to their relative safety and simplicity of production, joint with the enhanced payload and protection of encapsulated RNAs. Moreover, LNP may be functionalized to reach target cells, and they may be used to combine RNAi molecules with conventional drug substances to reduce resistance or improve efficiency. This review features the current application of LNP in RNAi mediated therapy against viral infections and aims to explore possible future lines of action in this field.