Cloaked Exosomes: Biocompatible, Durable, and Degradable Encapsulation

Abstract

Exosomes-nanosized extracellular vesicles (EVs) naturally secreted from cells-have emerged as promising biomarkers and potential therapeutic vehicles, but methods to manipulate them for engineering purposes remain elusive. Among the technical obstacles are the small size and surface complexity of exosomes and the complex processing steps required, which reduce the biocompatibility of currently available methods. The encapsulation of exosomes with a nanofilm of supramolecular complexes of ferric ions (Fe ) and tannic acid is demonstrated here. The resulting natural polyphenol, ≈10 nm thick, protects exosomes from external aggressors such as UV-C irradiation or heat and is controllably degraded on demand. Furthermore, gold nanoparticles can be covalently attached for single-exosome level visualization. To fully exploit their therapeutic potential, chemotherapeutic drug-loaded EVs are functionalized to achieve the targeted, selective killing of cancer cells preferentially over normal cells. This nanofilm not only preserves the native size and chemical makeup of the intrinsic exosomes, but also confers new capabilities for efficient tumor targeting and pH-controlled release of drugs. Demonstrating a scalable method to produce biocompatible, durable, on-demand degradable, and chemically controllable shields for exosome modification and functionalization, the methods introduced here are expected to bring the potential of exosome-based nanomedicine applications closer to reality.

Human Platelet Membrane Functionalized Microchips with Plasmonic Codes for Cancer Detection

“…The number of antibodies immobilized on plasmonic nanoparticles was quantified (Figure S10, Supporting Information). The colorimetric signal change due to the plasmonic coupling at the single EV level was quantitatively analyzed by RGB color profiling . SEM imaging of PLT‐chips showed that their affinity to a cancer cell (LNCaP)‐derived EVs ( Figure a) was remarkably higher than that to normal cell (CCD‐1058Sk)‐derived ones (Figure S11, Supporting Information).…”

Iron Gall Ink Revisited: In Situ Oxidation of Fe(II)–Tannin Complex for Fluidic‐Interface Engineering

“…On the other hand, direct formation of Fe(III)–tannin complexes with Fe(III) cations, widely used for corrosion converters and antioxidants, has recently been adopted, in the scientific community, to the material‐independent coating of various substrates, such as microparticles, nanomaterials, viruses, and even living cells, as well as the fabrication of hydrogels . The direct Fe(III)–tannin film formation could be either monophasic or biphasic from the viewpoint of liquid phases, and most of the previous reports have so far relied on the monophasic formation of Fe(III)–tannin species.…”

Nanobiohybrids: Materials approaches for bioaugmentation

“…(G) Schematic representation of the microfluidic device used to encapsulate individual exosomes. A generic term, EV, was used for all secreted vesicles including exosomes and microvesicles (97). (H) Schematic of the approach for wrapping a virus in a metal-organic molecular net with two-step preparation and evaporation of water that leaves the virus partially hydrated for further analysis in vacuum or air (98).…”

“…(H) Schematic of the approach for wrapping a virus in a metal-organic molecular net with two-step preparation and evaporation of water that leaves the virus partially hydrated for further analysis in vacuum or air (98). Reproduced with permissions from the National Academy of Sciences (91) (97) reported MPNs coatings around exosomes against plasma membrane rupturing from UVC irradiation and thermal treatment (Fig. 4G).…”