Contrast matching of selectively deuterated glycerides for scattering studies of lipid nanoparticles
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | Karolinska Institutet - Institutionen för medicinsk biokemi och biofysik |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 499 000 |
| Project duration | July 2019 - December 2021 |
| Status | Completed |
| Venture | Research infrastructure - utilisation and collaboration |
| Call | Industrial pilot projects for utilisation of neutron- and photon based techniques at large scale infrastructures - spring 2019 |
| End-of-project report | 2019-02547__Larodan.pdf (pdf, 99 kB) |
Important results from the project
Larodan is a highly specialised producer of research grade lipids and is investigating the commercial potential of deuterated analogues. A key application of deuterated analogues is to enable the determination of the location of individual components within lipid nanomedicines using neutron scattering. This information increases our understanding of how they perform. We used selectively deuterated analogues to determine the structural requirements for deuterated lipids in lipid nanomedicines.
Expected long term effects
Our studies established that the selected deuteration of lipid analogues did not alter their structure in the library of analogues tested and that we were able to use these analogues to form stable lipid nanoparticles. By combining the SAXS and SANS data we now have the information needed to validate the use Larodan’s deuterated lipid analogues to study the precise location of specific lipid components within lipid nanoparticles.
Approach and implementation
The project combined the synthesis expertise of Larodan from their labs at the KI-Campus with the scattering expertise from the Stevens Group at KI. Together we obtained neutron beam time at ISIS Neutron and Muon Source in UK to perform small angle scattering experiments. Larodan’s Operations Director participated in the neutron beamtime with a team from The Stevens Group at Karolinska. Proof of concept data has been obtained and analysed and further analysis is ongoing. Our aim is for this to result in a joint publication and to use these analogues in future projects.