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Review
. 2023 Aug 1;19(2):2256040.
doi: 10.1080/21645515.2023.2256040.

A review of technological developments in lipid nanoparticle application for mRNA vaccination

Tzu-Fu Yeh  1 , Chen Lin  1 , Huang-Chih Sung  2
Affiliations
Review

A review of technological developments in lipid nanoparticle application for mRNA vaccination

Tzu-Fu Yeh et al. Hum Vaccin Immunother. .

Abstract

Lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology is critical to the advancement of mRNA vaccines. However, most studies focus on technical aspects and neglect the patent landscape. Moreover, there is a lack of differentiation of LNP technology differences among mRNA, mRNA vaccines, and COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, leading to confusing comparisons. This study fills this gap by analyzing LNP technology in academic journals and patents for mRNA, mRNA vaccines, and COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. The results show (1) academic impact on journal articles and patents, but no direct positive correlation; (2) the USA leads in academic research and patents, with China following closely; and (3) many cited articles have sponsors, indicating the importance of industry-university collaboration. This research aids strategic planning in government, academia, and industry, by providing trend analysis of LNP technology in journals and patents.

Keywords: COVID-19; Lipid nanoparticle (LNP); journal analysis; mRNA vaccine; patent landscape.

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Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Three research areas of LNP delivery technology.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Journal articles and patent trends in the three research areas.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Journal information.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Patent information.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
The number and trend of journal articles and patents of 4 core authors.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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