Membrane Vesicles as Drug Delivery Systems: Source, Preparation, Modification, Drug Loading, In Vivo Administration and Biodistribution, and Application in Various Diseases

Abstract

Bioinspired (or biologically inspired) drug delivery systems (DDSs) have been intensively studied in the last decades. As bioinspired DDSs, membrane vesicles, including extracellular vesicles (EVs) released from eukaryotic cells, outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) from bacteria, cell-bound membrane vesicles (CBMVs) isolated in situ from cell surfaces, membrane vesicles reorganized after the isolation of the plasma membrane of cells, and others have been rapidly developed and are attracting more and more attention. Most recently, a collection of 25 papers on the advances in membrane vesicle-based drug delivery systems was published in a Special Issue of Pharmaceutics entitled “Advances of membrane vesicles in drug delivery systems”. These papers cover many related topics including the source, preparation, modification, drug loading, and in vivo administration and biodistribution of membrane vesicles (mainly extracellular vesicles or exosomes and bacterial outer membrane vesicles), as well as application of membrane vesicles as DDSs in the treatment of various diseases.

Thermosensitive Capturer Coupled with the CD63 Aptamer for Highly Efficient Isolation of Exosomes

“…Organisms produce exosomes under normal physiological and pathological conditions, and they have been detected in various bodily fluids . Exosomes mediate intercellular communication, and their contents affect various life processes, including angiogenesis, metastasis, anticancer resistance, immune evasion, macrophage polarization, and metabolic reprogramming. − Exosomes are increasingly recognized as promising biomarkers for a range of diseases. − Exosomes display low toxicity, biodegradability, and efficient tissue targeting, which make them reliable delivery vehicles. − Although exosome therapies have been developed by some pharmaceutical companies, there are still many obstacles in the production of clinical grade exosomes for treatment . Especially, the isolation of exosomes is a crucial step in the production process of exosomes .…”