Abstract In this study, we report novel lipid-based ionic liquids (LBILs) that enable the complexation with mRNA. LBILs were synthesized by combining cationic phospholipids with different alkyl chain lengths (dimyristoyl, dipalmitoyl, and distearyl) and anionic linoleate. The resulting LBILs-mRNA complexes exhibited distinct physicochemical properties, such as particle size and zeta potential, depending on the phospholipid structure. Transfection studies in HeLa cells further revealed that the LBIL prepared from the dimyristoyl-containing phospholipid DMPC achieved the highest gene expression efficiency. These results demonstrate that LBILs represent a promising molecular platform for effective intracellular mRNA delivery.
Tanaka et al. (Mon,) studied this question.