MIT engineers develop RNA delivery method using microspheres

Engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a method of delivering ribonucleic acid (RNA) in a treatment process based on naturally-occurring RNA interference. The process, which uses fragments of RNA to shut off malfunctioning genes, has been pursued for the past decade, but scientists struggled to find a way to deliver the DNA efficiently, since the kind of RNA used in RNA interference, short interfering RNA (siRNA), is usually broken down by enzymes in the body. “It’s been a real struggle to try to design a delivery system that allows us to administer siRNA, especially if you want to target it to a specific part of the body,” says Paula Hammond, professor of engineering. Hammond and her team created a delivery vehicle in which RNA is packed into microspheres. The microspheres are so dense that they can withstand being broken down until they reach their target. This treatment could be used on cancer patients as well as those with a number of other disorders.