Next-Generation Nanocarrier Platforms for RNA Vaccines: Advances in Formulation, Stability Engineering, and Translational Manufacturing Challenges
RNA vaccines have emerged as an attractive platform for treating infectious diseases, cancer immunotherapy, and personalized medicine; however, their clinical success depends on multiple factors, including efficient, stable, and scalable delivery systems. Because RNA molecules are highly sensitive to factors such as enzymatic degradation, oxidation, poor cellular uptake, and limited endosomal escape, nanocarrier platforms play essential roles in protecting RNA cargo and enabling effective intracellular delivery. The biological performance of RNA nanocarriers depends on efficient cellular uptake, endosomal escape, intracellular RNA delivery, biodistribution, and immune modulation. Comparative assessment emphasizes that lipid nanoparticles remain the most clinically mature approach, while nanostructured lipid carriers, polymeric systems, and exosome-based nanocarriers provide multiple benefits for stability, targeted delivery, biocompatibility, and/or controlled release. Translational challenges involving GMP manufacturing, batch reproducibility, regulatory expectations, and scale-up are considered critical for effective nano-based RNA vaccine delivery and are elaborated in this review. Emerging advances such as pKa-tuned ionizable lipids, ligand-targeted systems, stimuli-responsive nanocarriers, circular and self-amplifying RNA platforms, artificial intelligence-guided formulation design, and needle-free delivery technologies may further expand the safety, accessibility, and therapeutic potential of RNA vaccines. In this review, we highlight next-generation nanocarrier systems for RNA vaccines, with an emphasis on novel nanocarrier RNA vaccine delivery systems. Additionally, we evaluate stability engineering approaches that currently limit global vaccine distribution and the future of the nanocarrier platforms for RNA vaccines.