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Home > RNA Delivery > Cationic/Ionizable Lipids

Cationic/Ionizable Lipids

In the past five years, DC Chemicals has focused on research and development in the RNA delivery field, successfully developing over 500 cationic lipid structures and maintaining an inventory of over 200 cationic lipids. We collaborate with leading gene delivery companies and research institutions worldwide, and our products and services have received widespread acclaim.
DC Chemicals has accumulated substantial experience in the synthesis of lipids, particularly for highly complex lipid molecules. Our unique chemical synthesis and purification processes often circumvent patented and literature-reported routes, allowing us to design new synthetic routes that yield lipid molecules with higher purity than those reported in literature and patents. Our representative molecules, such as LP-01, SM-102, ALC-0315, and DLIN-MC3-DMA, have purities exceeding 98% as tested by CAD-HPLC, placing them among the top purity products available.We have the capability to scale production from grams to kilograms.


Cationic ionizable lipids play a major role in the LNP formulation and its ability to transfect target cells with its cargo. The ionizable lipids are used to complex negatively charged nucleic acid cargo. The mRNA-cationic lipid complex fuses with the cell membrane and is then delivered into the cytosol. To be able to play these roles efficiently, a cationic ionizable lipid must be engineered with a suitable apparent acid dissociation constant (pKa). The apparent pKa of a cationic ionizable lipid is the likely pKa at the LNP surface. Currently, the cationic ionizable lipids in FDA-approved therapeutics all have an apparent pKa between 6-7. This is crucial for the cationic ionizable lipid to maintain a neutral charge while in systemic circulation (pH above the pKa of the lipid, pH ~7.5), as well as its ability to become positively charged in the endosome (pH ~6.5) and facilitate membrane fusion and subsequent cytosolic release.
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Cat. No. Product Name Field of Application Chemical Structure
DC67294 Lipid B1
Lipid B1​ is a next-generation ionizable lipid engineered for superior mRNA delivery, featuring a patented ​β-isobutylglutarate branching linker​ that optimizes nanoparticle assembly and intracellular release. Its unique structure combines a pH-responsive tertiary amine headgroup with twin C18 alkyl tails connected via biodegradable ester bonds, enabling precise control over lipid packing and endosomal escape. Preclinical studies demonstrate that Lipid B1-based LNPs (bLNPs) achieve ​**>75% transfection efficiency in vitro​ at ultra-low mRNA doses (1 μg), outperforming commercial benchmarks like SM-102. In vivo, subcutaneous administration of bLNPs delivers ​10-fold higher luciferase expression**​ than linear-chain analogs, with targeted biodistribution to lymph nodes and tumor sites. Clinically relevant data show 100% tumor prevention in prophylactic cancer vaccine models and 70% tumor regression in therapeutic settings when combined with checkpoint inhibitors. The ester-based backbone ensures rapid metabolic clearance, minimizing systemic toxicity risks (NOAEL >10 mg/kg in mice). Compatible with mRNA, siRNA, and CRISPR-Cas9 payloads, Lipid B1 is ideal for vaccines, gene therapies, and immuno-oncology. Its scalable 3-step synthesis (yield >80%) and lyophilization stability (-80°C, 12 months) make it a cost-effective solution for GMP-grade production. For advanced delivery with unmatched safety and efficacy, Lipid B1 sets a new standard in nucleic acid therapeutics.
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DC60605 Lipid 119-23 Featured
Lipid 119-23 is an ionizable lipid for mRNA delivery. 119-23 LNP exhibits an enhanced capability to express functional mCre in several categories of immune cells, spanning the liver, spleen and lung.
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DC60821 Lipid TOT-5 Featured
​TOT-5​​, a tri-oleoyl-Tris ionizable lipid (pKa 6.2), enables splenic B cell-targeted mRNA delivery via 15% DSPC-incorporated LNPs. Its charge-neutral, hydrophobic surface minimizes hepatic ApoE uptake and enhances complement C3 adsorption, facilitating CD21/35-mediated uptake by marginal zone B cells. In vivo, intravenous 15%DSPC-LNPs showed 8-fold higher spleen-to-liver luciferase expression vs 3%DSPC, with anti-CD21/35 blocking 60% B cell uptake. Intramuscular administration induced robust OVA-specific IgG (10^5 titer) and CTL responses (3.5% tetramer+ CD8+ T cells) while reducing hepatotoxicity (ALT/AST levels ≤40 U/L vs SM-102-LNPs' 80-120 U/L). Cryo-ET confirmed stable lamellar structures (80-100 nm, ζ-potential -2 mV). This formulation achieves safe, ligand-free splenic targeting for mRNA vaccines. 
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DC82102 PPZ-A10 Featured
PPZ-A10 is an ionizable cationic lipid.It has been used in the generation of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) for the delivery of siRNA and mRNA in vitro and in vivo. Intraperitoneal administration of LNPs containing PPZ-A10 and encapsulating an mRNA reporter preferentially accumulates in hepatic Kupffer cells and splenic macrophages in mice.
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DC82105 93-O17O Featured
93-O17O is a chalcogen-containing ionizable cationic lipidoid. It has been used in the generation of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). LNPs containing 93-O17O localize to the spleen after intravenous injection into mice.LNPs containing 93-O17O have been used for the delivery of Cre recombinase and ribonucleoproteins for genome editing in mice and for the intratumoral delivery of cGAMP to enhance cross-presentation of tumor antigens.
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DC60575 U-101 Featured
U-101 is an ionizable lipid for mRNA delivery. U101-LNP/IL-2F mRNA formulation demonstrats effective antitumor activity and safety.LNPs containing lipid U 101 and encapsulating mRNA encoding a fusion protein composed of IL-2, a linker, and CD25 inhibit tumor growth in an MC-38 mouse xenograft model.
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DC66219 Lipid 88 Featured
Lipid88​​ is a high-performance, novel ionizable lipid component engineered for advanced mRNA-LNP vaccine delivery. LNP88 formulation demonstrates superior biodistribution, achieving >10-fold higher transfection efficiency in spleen and lymph nodes compared to benchmark lipids like ALC-0315 via intramuscular delivery. When encapsulating antigen-encoding mRNA (e.g., optimized mCSA construct), Lipid-88 based LNPs drive robust humoral and cellular immunity, enabling complete protection against challenging SARS-CoV-2 variants (WA1/2020, Omicron BA.1, BQ.1) in preclinical models. Its design prioritizes potent immunogenicity with favorable safety profiles.
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DC59010 C14-4 (C14-494,Lipid B-4,Lipid B4) Featured
C14-4 (C14-494,Lipid B-4,Lipid B4) is a novel ionizable lipid with the highest T-cell transfection efficiency and low cytotoxicity.The C14-4 ionizable lipid has been explored for CAR-T therapy.To screen the excellent formulations for mRNA delivery, a lipid library of 24 ionizable lipids was constructed to make iLNPs, which were used to deliver luciferase mRNA into Jurkat cells.[115] The optimal iLNPs formulation was C14-4 iLNPs (C14-4 ionizable lipid, DOPE, chol, and PEG at a molar ratio of 35%, 16%, 46.5%, and 2.5%) (Figure 6c). The optimal dose of luciferase mRNA for C14-4 iLNPs was 30 ng. Compared with electroporated CAR T cells, the CAR T cells engineered via C14-4 iLNPs showed potent cancer-killing activity when they were cocultured with Nalm-6 acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells. To obtain a safer and more effective CAR mRNA delivery vehicle, the orthogonal design provided 256 potential formulations, and 16 representative iLNPs formulations were evaluated.Through evaluating the safety, delivery efficiency, and transfection efficiency of 16 iLNPs, the formulation B10 (C14-4 ionizable lipid, DOPE, chol, PEG at a molar ratio of 40%, 30%, 25%, and 2.5%) was screened out as the optimal performing formulation. The luciferase expression based on B10 formulation was increased threefold than the initial formulation. Reducing the accumulation and clearance of iLNPs in the liver can increase the expression of CAR mRNA in T cells, further improving the therapeutic effect of CAR-T. Studies have shown that cholesterol analogs can alter the mechanisms of intracellular circulation and enhance the delivery of mRNA, which may be related to the reduced recognition of iLNPs by the Niemann Pick C1 (NPC1) enzyme.The addition of a hydroxyl group to various locations in the cholesterol molecule can alter the binding kinetics between the modified cholesterol and NPC1, and reduced NPC1 recognition of cholesterol. The results showed that replacement of 25% and 50% 7 α-hydroxycholesterol for cholesterol in iLNPs improved mRNA delivery to primary human T cells in vitro by 1.8-fold and twofold, respectively.C14-4 is one of the ionizable lipids to efficiently deliver mRNA to Jurkat cells or primary human T cells. It will effectively promote the development of mRNA delivery by iLNPs for CAR-T therapy.
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DC67553 Lipid PL40 Featured
PL-40​​ is a ​​cardiolipin-mimetic ionizable lipid​​ engineered for high-efficiency, antibody-free mRNA delivery to T cells. PL 40 LNPs exhibit a mean particle size of ​​120 nm​​, zeta potential of ​​-5.19 mV​​, and >80% mRNA encapsulation efficiency, with excellent plasma stability (≤5% size change after 6h in serum). Cryo-TEM reveals ​​polyhedral nanoparticles​​ with phase-separated domains, while SAXS confirms tight mRNA packing (d-spacing: ​​~3 nm​​ vs. 6.64 nm in conventional LNPs). AFM demonstrates exceptional rigidity (high bending modulus), enabling T cell-selective uptake via actin-mediated endocytosis (>2× higher than ALC0315 LNPs).In primary human T cells, PL40 LNPs achieve ​​>90% transfection​​ at 0.5 μg mRNA dose and sustain >100× higher luciferase expression than benchmark lipids. When delivering circular RNA, they extend protein expression ​​>5 days​​ with superior spleen tropism (spleen:liver ratio = ​​2.63​​). Crucially, they reprogram T cells into functional CAR-Ts in vivo without antibody conjugation, evading exhaustion markers (no Tim-3/PD-1 upregulation). Therapeutically, PL40-based uPAR-targeted CAR mRNA reduces liver fibrosis (​​collagen↓50%​​, ALT↓50%) and rheumatoid arthritis severity (​​clinical scores↓60%​​) by clearing senescent cells. Humanized anti-uPAR CARs delivered via PL40 show near-complete cytotoxicity (>95%) against uPAR+ cells, underscoring clinical translatability.
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DC60808 503O8,12 Featured
503O8,12​​ is an ionizable lipidoid synthesized via Michael addition, combining a hydrophilic amine headgroup ("503" series) with two hydrophobic branched acrylate tails (C8 and C12 chains, likely with unsaturated bonds). Its design emphasizes organ-specific delivery, exhibiting ​​spleen-tropic targeting​​ in vivo.
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DC67120 YSK12-C4 (YSK12-MEND) Featured
YSK 12C4 is an ionizable cationic lipid primarily used to enhance siRNA cellular delivery via multifunctional envelope-type nanodevices (MEND). YSK 12C4 promotes siRNA uptake and endosomal escape, effectively silencing genes in human immune cell lines.
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DC60503 C12-A1 Featured
Lipid C12-A1 is an ionizable lipid. C12-A1-LPN is a potent and safe LNP platform to deliver Foxp3 mRNA to CD4+ T cells to engineer immunosuppressive FP3T cells. C12-A1 has a slightly lower average cell viability than C14-A1.
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DC60499 C14-A1 Featured
Lipid C14-A1 is an ionizable lipid. C14-A1-LPN is a potent and safe LNP platform to deliver Foxp3 mRNA to CD4+ T cells to engineer immunosuppressive FP3T cells.
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DC60495 9322-O16B Featured
9322-O16B is a lipidoid for the efficient delivery of antiCD19 mRNA CAR to murine primary macrophages. LNP 9322-O16B is more efficient than delivery with lipofectamine 2000 (LPF2K) or MC3.
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DC80065 113-O12B Featured
113-O12B is a disulfide bond-containing ionizable cationic lipidoid. 113-O12B LNP, an LN-targeting LNP delivery system, is developed for a mRNA cancer vaccine. The 113-O12B/mRNA shows enhanced expression in APCs compared with ALC-0315/mRNA, indicating the LN-specific targeting ability.
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DC80080 OF-C4-Deg-Lin Featured
OF-C4-Deg-Lin is a novel ionizable lipid for RNA delivery. OF-C4-Deg-Lin LNPs entrapping mRNA coding for luciferase induce the majority of protein expression in the spleen, with minimal translation in the liver, and negligible translation in other organs. OF-C4-Deg-Lin LNPs entrapping mRNA coding for luciferase induce the majority of protein expression in the spleen, with minimal translation in the liver, and negligible translation in other organs. To improve the mRNA delivery to extrahepatic tissues, a series of degradable diketopiperazine-based ionizable lipids were synthesized. Through evaluating the mRNA functional activity delivered by iLNPs, it was found that the ionizable lipids with doubly unsaturated lipid tails and linkers containing a length of four carbon aliphatic chain (Of-C4-Deg-Lin) could deliver the mRNA more efficiently. Moreover, compared with cKK-E12 and Invivofectamine, Of-C4-Deg-Lin could specifically induce more than 85% of firefly luciferase expression in spleen,minimal expression in the liver, and insignificant expression in other tissues.
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DC86601 Lipid 8 Featured
Lipid 8 iLNPs were used to deliver CRISPR-Cas9 mRNA and sgRNA which targeted to the PLK1 gene. The safety and excellent intracerebral diffusion performance of lipid 8 iLNPs ensured that the survival of murine glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) mice was extended. The median survival was extended by approximately 50% and the overall survival was increased by 30%. The treatment of metastatic adenocarcinoma was executed by the EGFRtargeted lipid 8 iLNPs. These iLNPs possessed the ability of tumor targeting, which could increase the accumulation of CRISPR-Cas9 mRNA and sgRNA within the tumor cells. After a single intraperitoneal administration, 80% PLK1 gene was edited and the overall survival of mice with high-grade ovarian cancer malignant ascites was enhanced by 80% . These results demonstrate the clinical potential of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system can be delivered by iLNPs for treating tumors, and provide new ideas for tumor gene therapy.
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DC67295 Lipid MK16 Featured
MK-16 is a specialized lipid designed to traverse the blood-brain barrier (BBB) for effective mRNA delivery. Its formulation, MK 16 BLNP, leverages dual mechanisms involving caveolae and γ-secretase to facilitate BBB penetration, ensuring the targeted and efficient transport of functional mRNA to diverse brain cell types. Demonstrating excellent tolerability across a range of dosing regimens, MK16 BLNP represents a promising platform for brain-targeted therapeutic applications.
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DC67521 Lipid TD5 Featured
TD5 is a brain-targeting lipid nanoparticle (BLNP) engineered for efficient mRNA delivery to the central nervous system (CNS) via intrathecal injection. It incorporates a tryptamine-derived ionizable lipid headgroup, myristic acid hydrocarbon tails, and a biodegradable carbonate ester linker, enabling pH-dependent mRNA encapsulation (81.7% efficiency) and brain cell-specific targeting. With a hydrodynamic diameter of 107.5 nm, near-neutral pKa (7.30), and mild positive charge, TD 5 demonstrates superior CNS tropism through serotonin receptor (5-HT1A)-mediated endocytosis. In vitro, TD-5 achieved 80.8% GFP expression in SH-SY5Y neuronal cells, outperforming MC3 LNPs by 50-fold. Following intrathecal administration in mice, TD-5 mediated GFP expression in 29.6% of neurons and 38.1% of astrocytes brain-wide, with 10-fold higher CNS specificity than peripheral organs. Genome editing studies showed TD5-delivered Cas9/sgRNA induced tdTomato activation in ≈30% of neurons and 40% of astrocytes across key brain regions. Safety profiling revealed minimal systemic immune responses (lower IL-6, IL-12p40 vs MC3 LNPs), normal hepatic/renal biomarkers, and no histopathological toxicity. The optimized structure balances myristic chain hydrophobicity for membrane interaction, ionizable amines for mRNA complexation, and tryptamine-mediated targeting for enhanced CNS uptake, establishing TD5 as a promising platform for CNS gene therapies.
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DC60212 NT1-O14B Featured
NT1-O14B is a tryptamine-containing cationic lipidoid.1 It has been used in combination with other lipids in the formation of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). Intravenous administration of LNPs containing NT1-O14B and encapsulating antisense nucleotides against tau decreases tau brain levels in mice.
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DC41043 NT1-O12B Featured
NT1-O12B, an endogenous chemical and a neurotransmitter-derived lipidoid (NT-lipidoid), is an effective carrier for enhanced brain delivery of several blood-brain barrier (BBB)-impermeable cargos. Doping NT1-O12B into BBB-impermeable lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) gives the LNPs the ability to cross the BBB. NT-lipidoids formulation not only facilitate cargo crossing of the BBB, but also delivery of the cargo into neuronal cells for functional gene silencing or gene recombination.
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DC60872 Lipid A33-D268
A33-D268 is an ionizable lipid derived from a 2-aminoimidazole (AM) core, featuring an asymmetric hydrophobic tail structure designed to optimize mRNA interactions. Selected as the top candidate from a 21-lipid library through molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, it demonstrated superior performance: low root mean square deviation (RMSD) and the smallest radius of gyration (Rg), indicating tight mRNA compaction, alongside moderate electrostatic energy and above-average hydrogen bonding for stable encapsulation. Formulated into LNPs, it achieves ​​efficient muscle-specific transfection​​ post-intramuscular injection, rivaling commercial ALC-0315 LNPs. Crucially, it exhibits ​​29-fold lower hepatic off-target expression​​, attributed to its inability to leverage serum protein coronas for liver tropism.
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DC60673 (+)CP-LC-0729
(+)CP-LC-0729 is an cationic lipid derived from CP-LC-0729 and achieves significantly higher expression and selectivity highlights the advantages of this lipid system for lung-targeted delivery.
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DC60705 FO-32
FO-32 is an artificial intelligence-guided designed ionizable lipid for RNA delivery to the muscle, lung and nose. FO-32 LNPs enable potent transfection throughout the whole ferret lung epithelium, from trachea to alveoli.
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DC67452 Lipid PPz-2R1
PPz-2R1 is an ionizable cationic lipid engineered for mRNA delivery via lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). These LNPs demonstrate remarkable lung-selective accumulation in mice, showing significantly higher uptake compared to heart, liver, spleen, and kidney tissues. When loaded with PTEN mRNA, PPz-2R1 LNPs effectively restore tumor suppressor function in PTEN-deficient lung cancer cells and inhibit tumor progression in orthotopic models, with enhanced efficacy observed in combination with PD-1 blockade therapy.
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DC60706 FO-35 Featured
FO35 is an artificial intelligence-guided designed ionizable lipid for RNA delivery to the muscle, lung and nose. FO-35 LNPs enable potent transfection throughout the whole ferret lung epithelium, from trachea to alveoli.
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DC65327 306-N16B Featured
306-N16B is a lipidnanoparticle, and allows systemic codelivery of Cas9 mRNA and sgRNA. 306-N16B can transport mRNA to the pulmonaryendothelial cell. 306-N16B can be used for research of genome editing-based therapies. Based on the same lipid libraries with 306-O12B, the researchers also found that N-series ionizable lipids were able to selectively deliver mRNA to the lungs of mice. Compared with the liver-targeted O-series ionizable lipids which contained ester bond in lipid tail found in previous work, such as 306-O12B, the N-series ionizable lipids with the lipid tail containing amide bond prefer to deliver mRNA to the lung. As a N-series ionizable lipid, the chemical structure of the 306-N16B is shown in Figure 4a,b. The difference of organ targeting may be due to their adsorption of different protein coronas during blood circulation caused by their different structures mentioned earlier.It has shown that the second major protein of the protein corona adsorbed by liver-targeting 306-O12B iLNPs was apolipoprotein E (ApoE), while the three dominant proteins in the protein corona adsorbed by lung-targeting 306-N16B iLNPs were serum albumin, fibrinogen beta chain, and fibrinogen gamma chain. However, the 306-N16B iLNPs showed less organ selectivity when systematically codelivered Cas9 mRNA and sgRNA in vivo, which could simultaneously activate tdTomato expression in the liver and lung of Ai14 mice, whereas single mRNA delivery could almost exclusively deliver mRNA to the lungs. This surprising phenomenon requires further investigation. Both the change of iLNPs charge and the change of lipids functional group can influence the distribution of iLNPs in vivo due to the altering of protein corona composition. Therefore, it is possible to control the organ targeting of iLNPs by controlling the composition of the outer protein corona of iLNPs.
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DC60506 IR-117-17
IR-117-17 (A10-LIN) is an ionizable and biodegradable lipid specifically designed for nebulized mRNA delivery. When formulated into lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), IR-117-17 demonstrates remarkable efficacy, achieving a 300-fold enhancement in lung mRNA delivery compared to the best-performing LNP previously reported. Additionally, it shows a two-fold improvement over the leading PBAE-based delivery system, with up to a 45-fold increase in mRNA delivery efficiency to the large airways.
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DC67525 Hopewell Lipid 649 Featured
L649 is a next-generation, lung-targeting ionizable lipid specifically designed for systemic mRNA delivery developed by Hopewell. Belonging to the novel "N-series" lipid class, it features a unique structure with an amine-containing head group and hydrophobic tails incorporating amide bonds. This design enables L649 to form highly stable lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) that exhibit exceptional tropism for the lower respiratory tract (lungs, bronchi, trachea) following intravenous administration. It demonstrates superior efficiency in delivering therapeutic payloads (like mRNA) specifically to key lung cell types, including alveolar epithelial cells (AT1 and AT2) and bronchial cells, while minimizing off-target accumulation in organs like the liver. L649-based LNPs, particularly when formulated with helper lipids like POPE, combine high potency with significantly improved tolerability, allowing for effective dosing in vivo. This makes L649 a promising candidate for developing treatments for various lung diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis, COPD, lung cancer, and infectious diseases like COVID-19.​
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DC60849 THOR 76 Crude
THOR 76​​ is an ionizable lipid developed for lung-targeted mRNA delivery, synthesized via a high-throughput Ugi four-component reaction (U4CR). It combines spermine (N3, amine core), oleyl aldehyde (A2), oleic acid (C2), and a morpholine-functionalized isonitrile (D3). Remarkably, its ​​crude reaction mixture​​ outperforms purified forms in efficacy, suggesting synergistic impurities or intermediates enhance function. Formulated into lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) with cholesterol, DOPE, and PEG-lipid, THOR 76 LNPs exhibit ​​exceptional lung tropism​​ with secondary spleen affinity after intravenous administration. They efficiently transfect ​​pulmonary endothelial cells​​, enabling robust gene expression (e.g., Cre recombinase) and significant CRISPR-Cas9-mediated gene editing (1.22% at 0.1 mg/kg dose) in the lungs. With a particle size <150 nm, positive zeta potential, and >90% mRNA encapsulation, THOR 76 achieves targeted delivery while minimizing off-target effects in the liver. Its design overcomes limitations of cationic helper lipids, offering a potent, tolerable platform for treating pulmonary genetic disorders and cancers.
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