{"id":65391,"date":"2023-12-19T09:35:07","date_gmt":"2023-12-19T08:35:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/?p=65391"},"modified":"2025-06-05T15:37:41","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T13:37:41","slug":"x-ray-vision-for-investigation-of-mrna-nanomedicines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/x-ray-vision-for-investigation-of-mrna-nanomedicines\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018X-ray vision\u2019 for investigation of mRNA nanomedicines"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<article class=\"vf-card vf-card--brand vf-card--bordered vf-u-margin__bottom--800\" default>\n  <div class=\"vf-card__content | vf-stack vf-stack--400\">\n      <h3 class=\"vf-card__heading\">\n      Summary    <\/h3>\n                <p class=\"vf-card__text\"><ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scientists at EMBL Hamburg, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Postnova Analytics GmbH, and BioNTech SE have developed a new method to investigate mRNA-containing nanoparticles and other pharmaceutical nanoparticle products<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The method gives direct and quantitative information on how many particles of each size are in the product, as well as their structure, composition, and many other properties which are key for ensuring consistent product quality and effectiveness<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The new approach can be easily adapted by the pharmaceutical industry and academia, and is expected to enable faster and more efficient development of new nanomedicines comprising mRNA and other drug substances in the future<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul><\/p>\n      <\/div>\n<\/article>\n\n\n\n\n<p>Messenger RNA (mRNA) nanomedicines, a ground-breaking technology that has led to the development of the first approved COVID-19 vaccine, was recently recognised <a href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/nobel-prize-for-rna-nanomedicines-2023\/\">by the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology<\/a>. But mRNA\u2019s potential for pharmaceutical application is expected to go much beyond this \u2013 it could open up new opportunities for the treatment and prevention of diseases, such as viral and bacterial infections, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and inflammatory and auto-immune diseases. It could also transform the large field of interventions by therapeutic proteins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many novel mRNA nanomedicines, which are currently in different stages of development, may become available in the future. One requirement for all applications of mRNA in pharmaceutical products is that they need to be formulated in suitable delivery systems, each designed for different functions and optimised for therapeutic product needs based on the intended application and route of delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lipid-based nanoparticles are tiny droplets of fat-like molecules that serve as protective packaging for the mRNA. Their properties depend on composition, structure, manufacturing protocol, and other conditions. An important aspect of nanoparticles is their size. By their nature, nanoparticles can vary a little bit in size, some being a bit smaller, some a bit larger than the average value. The particle size can have an influence, for example, on the stability and the behaviour of the formulations after administration. It is therefore important to control the particle size inside a pharmaceutical product to evaluate and ensure its quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Scientists at EMBL Hamburg, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Postnova Analytics GmbH, and BioNTech SE have developed a new method to precisely elucidate the size of all particles in such pharmaceutical products, as well as their structure and how many RNA molecules they carry inside them. The study was conducted based on lipoplex formulations, a mRNA delivering technology developed by BioNTech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSo far, it was very difficult to measure all these size-related properties; therefore, often only average values were determined,\u201d said Heinrich Haas, one of the leaders of the project. \u201cWith our new method, we can determine many size-related features all at once, with a single measurement and for all nanoparticles in a product. This information can be very useful to evaluate product quality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The method will also be applicable for the investigation of other pharmaceutical products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cLiposomes are another type of pharmaceutical nanoparticles which have been applied since years for treatment of cancer or infectious diseases such as fungal infections,\u201d said Peter Langguth, the project leader at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. \u201cNow even generic liposome products are available on the market, and probably there will be more to come. The new method can be very useful in evaluating the quality of these generics in comparison to the originator products and will pave the way for further high-quality drug products at an even more reasonable cost.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A two-in-one method<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>What makes the new method so powerful is that it couples two techniques: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.postnova.com\/af2000-applications.html\">asymmetrical-flow field-flow fractionation (AF4)<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/saxs-explained\/\">small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS)<\/a>. AF4 separates lipid-based nanoparticles from other parts of an mRNA nanomedicine and sorts them according to their size. SAXS allows scientists to determine the structure and the number of the sorted particles. To do this unequivocally, it is necessary that only one type of particles is analysed at a time, which is why combining sorting and measuring is so critical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"vf-figure wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"600\" class=\"vf-figure__image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/20231005_104748edit1000x600.jpg\" alt=\"Three scientists are working in a room full of experimental equipment for X-ray experiments.\" class=\"wp-image-65431\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/20231005_104748edit1000x600.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/20231005_104748edit1000x600-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/20231005_104748edit1000x600-768x461.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"vf-figure__caption\">EMBL Staff Scientist Melissa Graewert together with two users from the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz are performing measurements of RNA using small-angle X-ray scattering at the EMBL beamline P12 in Hamburg. Credit: Dorota Badowska\/EMBL<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>SAXS is one of the key techniques applied and available at EMBL Hamburg as a service for researchers from academia and industry in Europe and beyond. EMBL Hamburg\u2019s SAXS beamline at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.desy.de\/research\/facilities__projects\/petra_iii\/index_eng.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">PETRA III<\/a> synchrotron, now equipped with the AF4 device \u2013 setup with the help of collaborators at Postnova Analytics GmbH \u2013 will open up new opportunities not only for studying pharmaceutical nanoparticles, but also for other types of research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The combination of these two tools can now be used in many different areas of science,\u201d said Melissa Graewert, Staff Scientist at EMBL Hamburg. \u201cIn addition to helping create new medicines, we can also use them to understand how different-sized particles interact in complex biological systems. For example, I&#8217;ve now used this new setup to closely examine how very small plastic debris called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/from-antibodies-to-nanoplastics\/\">nanoplastics<\/a>, which pollute our waters, can be covered by binding proteins on their surface. A key question is whether this protein shielding enables nanoplastics to travel through our bloodstream, potentially reaching different organs, as they may no longer be recognised as foreign objects by our immune system.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This work follows up on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/nobel-prize-for-rna-nanomedicines-2023\/\">several previous collaborative<\/a> studies between EMBL Hamburg, BioNTech SE, and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/how-structural-biology-helps-to-make-rna-vaccines\/\">explored how mRNA can be better formulated and delivered into human cells<\/a>. The scientists are continuing their collaborative research to further explore the application of mRNA nanomedicines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Funding<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This research was funded by the \u201cBundesministerium f\u00fcr Bildung und Forschung BMBF\u201c grant 05K22UM3 and by the \u201cDeutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG\u201d as part of the collaborative research center (CRC) 1066.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>EMBL Hamburg, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Postnova Analytics GmbH, and BioNTech SE have developed a new method to quantitatively investigate sizes of nanoparticles containing mRNA. It may become an important part of regular characterisation of mRNA nanomedicines in the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":96,"featured_media":65445,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,17591],"tags":[726,17241,1331,53,71,11948,752,17291,70,251,250,5658,708],"embl_taxonomy":[19177,9596],"class_list":["post-65391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science","category-science-technology","tag-beamline","tag-blanchet","tag-covid-19","tag-hamburg","tag-industry","tag-lipid-nanoparticles","tag-mrna","tag-nanomedicines","tag-rna","tag-small-angle-x-ray-scattering-saxs","tag-svergun","tag-vaccine","tag-x-ray","embl_taxonomy-blanchet-team","embl_taxonomy-embl-hamburg"],"acf":{"featured":true,"show_featured_image":false,"field_target_display":"embl","field_article_language":{"value":"english","label":"English"},"article_intro":"<p>A new technology co-developed at EMBL Hamburg provides new insights into mRNA pharmaceuticals and other nanomedicines, which can be helpful for the development of new products<\/p>\n","related_links":[{"link_description":"How structural biology helps to make RNA vaccines ","link_url":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/how-structural-biology-helps-to-make-rna-vaccines\/"},{"link_description":"EMBL facilities support development of RNA vaccines ","link_url":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/biontech-uni-mainz-embl-hamburg\/"},{"link_description":"mRNA nanomedicines scoop Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine","link_url":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/nobel-prize-for-rna-nanomedicines-2023\/"},{"link_description":"What is SAXS? Animated infographic ","link_url":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/saxs-explained\/"}],"source_article":[{"publication_title":"Quantitative size-resolved characterisation of mRNA nanoparticles by in-line coupling of asymmetrical-flow field-flow fractionation with small angle X-ray scattering","publication_link":{"title":"","url":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41598-023-42274-z","target":"_blank"},"publication_authors":"Graewert M.A., Wilhelmy C., Bacic T. et al.","publication_source":"Scientific Reports","publication_date":"22 September 2023","publication_doi":"10.1038\/s41598-023-42274-z"}],"in_this_article":false,"press_contact":"EMBL Generic","article_translations":false,"languages":"","vfwp-news_embl_taxonomy":[9596,19177]},"embl_taxonomy_terms":[{"uuid":"a:3:{i:0;s:36:\"302cfdf7-365b-462a-be65-82c7b783ebf7\";i:1;s:36:\"2dc39890-6c01-47bf-ac78-d42abdb10079\";i:2;s:36:\"2024cfcf-5f9c-4c46-b875-fb3a7bba9baf\";}","parents":[],"name":["Blanchet Team"],"slug":"blanchet-team","description":"What &gt; Structural Biology (EMBL Hamburg) &gt; Blanchet Team"},{"uuid":"a:3:{i:0;s:36:\"b14d3f13-5670-44fb-8970-e54dfd9c921a\";i:1;s:36:\"89e00fee-87f4-482e-a801-4c3548bb6a58\";i:2;s:36:\"613c4de5-1775-447f-af71-4b07085318e9\";}","parents":[],"name":["EMBL Hamburg"],"slug":"embl-hamburg","description":"Where &gt; All EMBL sites &gt; EMBL Hamburg"}],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>\u2018X-ray vision\u2019 for investigation of mRNA nanomedicines | EMBL<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A new technology co-developed at EMBL Hamburg allows better size measurements of nanoparticles containing mRNA, such as those used in pharmaceutical products.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/x-ray-vision-for-investigation-of-mrna-nanomedicines\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018X-ray vision\u2019 for investigation of mRNA nanomedicines | EMBL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A new technology co-developed at EMBL Hamburg allows better size measurements of nanoparticles containing mRNA, such as those used in pharmaceutical products.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/x-ray-vision-for-investigation-of-mrna-nanomedicines\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"EMBL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/embl.org\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-12-19T08:35:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-05T13:37:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/20231005_lipidNanoparticles_v3-1000x600-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dorota Badowska\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@d_badowska\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@embl\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dorota Badowska\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/x-ray-vision-for-investigation-of-mrna-nanomedicines\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/x-ray-vision-for-investigation-of-mrna-nanomedicines\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Dorota Badowska\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/b8ae50efcd7533f0ab2ec368736b1d04\"},\"headline\":\"\u2018X-ray vision\u2019 for investigation of mRNA nanomedicines\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-19T08:35:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-05T13:37:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/x-ray-vision-for-investigation-of-mrna-nanomedicines\/\"},\"wordCount\":851,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/x-ray-vision-for-investigation-of-mrna-nanomedicines\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/20231005_lipidNanoparticles_v3-1000x600-1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"beamline\",\"blanchet\",\"covid-19\",\"hamburg\",\"industry\",\"lipid nanoparticles\",\"mrna\",\"nanomedicines\",\"rna\",\"small-angle x-ray scattering (saxs)\",\"svergun\",\"vaccine\",\"x-ray\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Science\",\"Science &amp; 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