MIT researchers automate production of RNA delivery particles

MIT researchers have built an automated system that makes lipid nanoparticles, the fatty particles used to carry RNA therapies into cells, at a specified size. It measures particles as they form and adjusts the mixing process when their size misses the target. The system automates a two-step method the team reported last year: changing the delay before adding a second fluid controls how long particles grow. It can also make different shapes, although their measurement still happens outside the automated system. The researchers used process data to train a model that predicts settings for a chosen size or shape and are working to commercialize the technology.