A research group at the Universidade de São Paulo in Ribeirão Preto has developed a nanotechnology platform that delivers small interfering RNA directly into the skin, switching off genes that drive inflammation. Presented at FAPESP Week London in June 2026, the work from the NanoGeneSkin laboratory uses lipid-based liquid crystal nanoparticles to carry the fragile RNA molecules across the skin barrier, where they silence targets such as the inflammatory cytokine TNF-alpha.
The primary targets are psoriasis and vitiligo, with parallel lines of work on chronic wound healing and skin cancer. Psoriasis alone affects an estimated 190 million people worldwide, including roughly five million in Brazil, and current systemic treatments carry significant side effects. The group's results have been validated in cell cultures and in animals with experimentally induced lesions, and the platform extends to light-triggered RNA release and the co-delivery of multiple RNAs with anti-inflammatory drugs in a single particle.
The programme is the product of patience: the laboratory began developing these nanoparticles in 2007, the year after RNA interference won a Nobel Prize, and it now coordinates Brazil's National Institute of Science and Technology for Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology. With patents filed, freeze-drying work under way to enable production at scale, and companies in licensing discussions, the research is edging from academic proof of concept towards clinical translation.