Towards Industrial-Scale LNP Manufacturing | Beitrag aus pharmind 88 | Nr. 5 | Seite 356-361 (2026)
18.06.2026
Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are a cornerstone of nucleic acid delivery, demonstrated by their success in siRNA therapeutics and mRNA vaccines. Key physicochemical parameters such as particle size, polydispersity, and encapsulation efficiency critically determine LNP performance and therefore require tight process control. Microfluidic mixing enables reproducible small-scale LNP production with tunable properties; however, scaling beyond laboratory throughput remains challenging. Here, an in-house developed Caterpillar R300 micromixer was benchmarked against 3 commercial devices using a harmonized protocol and a SM-102–based mRNA-LNP formulation. The Caterpillar consistently produced small, homogeneous LNPs with defined morphology and high transfection efficiency. These results highlight device-dependent effects on LNP quality and demonstrate that the Caterpillar matches or exceeds commercial systems while offering inherent scalability for industrially relevant mRNA-LNP manufacturing.


