Extracellular vesicles: a rising star for therapeutics and drug delivery

Abstract Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nano-sized, natural, cell-derived vesicles that contain the same nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids as their source cells. Thus, they can serve as natural carriers for therapeutic agents and drugs, and have many advantages over conventional nanocarriers, including their low immunogenicity, good biocompatibility, natural blood – brain barrier penetration, and capacity for gene delivery. This review first introduces the classification of EVs and then discusses several currently popular methods for isolating and purifying EVs, EVs-mediated drug delivery, and the functionalization of EVs as carriers. Thereby, it provides new avenues for the development of EVs-based…

• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Awards: 82104354, File no. 82104354
• UD
  Universidade de Macau

  Awards: MYRG2022-00198-ICMS, File no. MYRG2022-00198-ICMS
• BA
  Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province

  Awards: 2019B1515120043, 2022A1515012154