Small Interference RNA Encapsulated in Liposomes: An Effective Strategy for In vitro Inhibition of Sars-CoV-2 Load

Title:Small Interference RNA Encapsulated in Liposomes: An Effective Strategy for In vitro Inhibition of Sars-CoV-2 Load

Volume: 5

Author(s): Joao Pedro Viana Rodrigues, Vanessa Pinheiro Gonçalves, Francisco Dantas Lourenço, Ronaldo Bragança Martins, Felipe Rocha do Nascimento, Eurico Arruda, Larissa Deadame de Figueiredo Nicolete and Roberto Nicolete*

Affiliation:

• Postgraduate Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Federal University of Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
• Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Fiocruz, Fiocruz Ceará, Eusébio, Ceará, Brazil
• Postgraduate Program in Biotechnology, Northeast Network in Biotechnology (RENORBIO), State University of Ceará (UECE), Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil

Abstract: Background: The pressing need for effective SARS-CoV-2 antiviral medicines has driven research into innovative therapeutic techniques. RNA interference with small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) has shown promise as an antiviral treatment.

Objective: We evaluated the effectiveness of lipid-based nanoparticles as a viable delivery platform for siRNA-based approach against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro infection.

Methods: Liposomes were fabricated by microfluidics to incorporate SARS-CoV-2-specific siRNAs based on conserved sections of the Spike protein coding sequence. Nanoparticle tracking analysis was used to evaluate the nanoparticles' physicochemical features. VERO cell lines infected with SARS-CoV-2 were used to test the efficiency of siRNA-loaded liposomes. RT-PCR was used to determine the viral load by quantifying the SARS-CoV-2 genome.

Results: The results showed that liposomes efficiently decreased viral load in infected cells with good physicochemical features, such as a mean particle size of about 180 nm, zeta potential of +2.5 mV and encapsulation efficiency (53.6%).

Conclusion: These findings imply that lipid-based nanoparticles might be a targeted delivery strategy for siRNA-based approaches.

Cite this article as:

Rodrigues Joao Pedro Viana, Gonçalves Vanessa Pinheiro, Lourenço Francisco Dantas, Martins Ronaldo Bragança, do Nascimento Felipe Rocha, Arruda Eurico, de Figueiredo Nicolete Deadame Larissa and Nicolete Roberto*, Small Interference RNA Encapsulated in Liposomes: An Effective Strategy for In vitro Inhibition of Sars-CoV-2 Load, Coronaviruses 2024; 5 () : e010224226639 . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/0126667975279621240124115409