Distinguishing Oxidative Impurities From Ionizable Lipids Used In LNP Formulations

By Adam Crowe, Nikita Jain, Rehan Higgins, Robert Proos, Matthew Stone and Kerstin Pohl

Achieve structural elucidation and distinction of oxidative isomer impurities of lipids with EAD and the ZenoTOF 7600 system

Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are used to deliver oligonucleotides to work as therapeutics or to stimulate the immune system, as in the initial mRNA-based COVID vaccines. Using MC3 and its related impurities as a model, a test was conducted to determine the applicability of this novel fragmentation mode for the detailed characterization of lipids. EAD was used to characterize the structures of the impurities used in the test. The information acquired during this experiment can be used to determine drug efficacy and safety from formulated LNPs. Additionally, it can be used to aid rational design of new synthetic lipids.