Zn-coordinated lipid nanoparticles synergistically enhance spleen-targeting delivery and elicit CD8+ T cell-mediated cancer immunotherapy

Despite recent advancements in lipid nanoparticles (LNPs)-based messenger RNA (mRNA) delivery, significant challenges persist in the structural optimization and functional modulation of their components for cancer immunotherapy, particularly regarding inadequate organ-specific targeting, and insufficient immune activation. Notably, metal ions have demonstrated emerging immunomodulatory potential, yet their coordinated self-assembly within LNPs as adjuvants to enhance the immunotherapeutic efficacy remains largely unexplored. To address these limitations, we combine newly designed imidazole-based LNPs with functional metal ions (Zn 2+ ) to develop novel Zn-coordinated LNP-based mRNA vaccines. A total of 48 imidazole-based ionizable lipids were designed and synthesized, among which C2–13 LNPs emerged as the top-performing formulation in terms of transfection efficiency. By innovatively incorporating Zn 2+ into C2–13 LNPs via coordination interaction, we further developed the novel metal-coordinated mRNA delivery systems, referred to as Zn-C2–13 LNPs. Compared to their non-metal counterparts, Zn-C2–13 LNPs exhibited markedly improved transfection efficiency and antigen presentation in vitro . Impressively, the synergistic effect of the optimized LNP formulation and Zn 2+ in the Zn-C2–13/mOVA systems (Zn-C2–13 LNPs loading ovalbumin mRNA) resulted in superior spleen-selective expression and immune response, significantly boosting the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy in the B16F10 ovalbumin-expressing (B16F10-OVA) melanoma tumor model. Collectively, this novel metal-coordinated LNPs improve specific organ targeting and immune responses, presenting a promising strategy to advance mRNA vaccine-based cancer immunotherapy.