Lipid Nanoparticle Database towards structure-function modeling and data-driven design for nucleic acid delivery

E Evan Collins J Jungyong Ji S Sung-Gwang Kim J Jacob Witten S Seonghoon Kim R Richard Zhu P Peter Park M Minjun Jung A Aron Park R Rajith S. Manan A Arnab Rudra G Gyochang Keum E Eun-Kyoung Bang J Jun-O Jin W William J. Jeang R Robert Langer D Daniel G. Anderson W Wonpil Im

Abstract

Abstract Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are the leading nonviral nucleic acid delivery technology, but LNP structure-function data remains fragmented and nonstandardized. Unlike protein engineering which is anchored by the centralized Protein Data Bank, the LNP field lacks a unified repository for systematic analysis. To address this, we develop Lipid Nanoparticle Database (LNPDB) ( https://lnpdb.molcube.com ), an integrated database and web tool that consolidates structural and functional data for 19,528 LNPs. LNPDB standardizes LNP featurization by encoding lipid composition, experimental methods, and functional results, and generates CHARMM force field files for constituent lipids to enable molecular dynamics simulations. LNPDB also supports future data contributions for continued growth. We examine the utility of LNPDB through two applications: advancing our deep learning model for predicting LNP delivery performance, and simulating bilayer dynamics to identify structural features – bilayer stability and critical packing parameter – that correlate with LNP delivery performance. Altogether, LNPDB provides the digital framework for LNP modeling and data-driven rational design.

Article Details

Volume / Issue Vol. 17, Issue 1
Published January 28, 2026
ISSN 2041-1723
Publisher Nature Portfolio

Journal Info

Nature Communications

Nature Portfolio

ISSN: 2041-1723 Open Access Life Sciences

Authors (18)

E

Evan Collins

J

Jungyong Ji

S

Sung-Gwang Kim

J

Jacob Witten

S

Seonghoon Kim

R

Richard Zhu

P

Peter Park

M

Minjun Jung

A

Aron Park

R

Rajith S. Manan

A

Arnab Rudra

G

Gyochang Keum

E

Eun-Kyoung Bang

J

Jun-O Jin

W

William J. Jeang

R

Robert Langer

D

Daniel G. Anderson

W

Wonpil Im