researchers are exploring the use of lipid nanoparticles to ferry CRISPR throughout the body. Resistant to degradation and easy to manufacture, these delivery vehicles also have the benefit of releasing the Cas9 protein and its guide RNA into the patient’s body in a regimented way. Viruses (and their CRISPR cargo) can persist in cells for a long time, which—as I’ll explain—can cause problems in the editing process, but lipid nanoparticles deliver CRISPR so that it acts quickly before being broken down by the natural recycling factories of the cell.
