A piezoelectric electroporator (Piezopen) for enhanced “naked” RNA vaccine delivery

Abstract

Despite the success of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, they still face challenges with high costs, complex manufacturing, off-target biodistribution, and systemic reactogenicity stemming from their inflammatory carriers: lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). While “naked” RNA delivery could in principle solve these issues, studies have suggested that it is infeasible due to rapid degradation by RNases and poor cellular entry, thereby necessitating formulations that enhance intracellular delivery and RNA stability. Now, we challenge this paradigm by showing that a simple and inexpensive (<$1), lighter-derived electroporator with microneedle electrodes (Piezopen) can augment gene expression and immunogenicity to naked mRNA leading to comparable responses to LNPs at low doses. We achieve robust responses in the absence of systemic inflammation and reactogenicity using skin-targeted delivery, administer diverse construct types (i.e., mRNA, self-amplifying RNA (saRNA), circular RNA (circRNA)), and demonstrate cross-species validation in live human skin to derisk subsequent clinical application. Our results introduce Piezopen as an inexpensive, well-tolerated, and efficacious alternative to LNPs for mRNA vaccine delivery, designed to facilitate routine vaccinations and pandemic response.