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

Abstract

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. We evaluated the effectiveness of lipid-based nanoparticles as a viable delivery platform for siRNA-based approach against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro infection. 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. 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%). These findings imply that lipid-based nanoparticles might be a targeted delivery strategy for siRNA-based approaches.