Microbubbles versus Extracellular Vesicles as Therapeutic Cargo for Targeting Drug Delivery

Abstract

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) and microbubbles are nanoparticles in drug-delivery systems that are both considered important for clinical translation. Current research has found that both microbubbles and EVs have the potential to be utilized as drug-delivery agents for therapeutic targets in various diseases. In combination with EVs, microbubbles are capable of delivering chemotherapeutic drugs to tumor sites and neighboring sites of damaged tissues. However, there are no standards to evaluate or to compare the benefits of EVs (natural carrier) versus microbubbles (synthetic carrier) as drug carriers. Both drug carriers are being investigated for release patterns and for pharmacokinetics; however, few researchers have focused on their targeted delivery or efficacy. In this Perspective, we compare EVs and microbubbles for a better understanding of their utility in terms of delivering drugs to their site of action and future clinical translation.

Advances in innovative exosome-technology for real time monitoring of viable drugs in clinical translation, prognosis and treatment response

“…The abundance of adhesive and surface proteins found on the surface of exosomes readily interact with the cellular membrane of target cells, allowing exosomes to essentially be vehicles to deliver cargo such as drugs [ 10 – 12 ]. The innovative use of exosomes as drug delivery systems for small molecules, cytokines, and other biological components makes them an ideal choice for clinical use [ 13 ].…”

“…In the realm of vaccine development, researchers are creating vaccines that consist of exosomes engineered to display SARS-CoV-2 proteins on their surface [ 14 – 16 ]. Also, since exosomes are known to be resistant to immune attack, lysis, and degradation [ 13 , 16 – 18 ], they can be exploited for use as an early-stage diagnostic marker. Many conventional biomarkers that are often proteinaceous-in-nature are unprotected from biofluids which are home to degradative enzymes such as proteases [ 17 , 19 ].…”

“…Innovations pertaining to the engineering of exosomes have progressively circumvented the limitations of naive exosomes (naturally-occurring exosomes produced by cells), which are known to have lower targeting capabilities, are more challenging to isolate, low drug loading capacities, bioavailability issues, low half-life in circulation, and low concentration of functional surface receptors [ 22 – 24 ]. Engineered exosomes are manipulated in a way that they can be loaded with maximum amounts of components such as drugs or miRNAs, and have higher specificity and delivery efficacies [ 13 , 24 , 25 ]. Additionally, engineered exosomes have other advantages over native exosomes, such as lower production cost, higher biocompatibility, and low undesirable effects such as cytotoxic effects [ 25 , 26 ].…”

Heat shock protein 20 promotes sirtuin 1-dependent cell proliferation in induced pluripotent stem cells

“…Mechanisms underlying the protective action of HSPs consist of repairing the damaged proteins and eliminating unrepairable proteins[ 1 - 3 ]. The ability of cells to repair and regenerate the damaged or dysfunctional proteins is essential for maintaining cellular functions and survival[ 1 - 5 ]. HSPs exist in numerous sizes and localize to different compartments in cells, thereby contributing to a myriad of biological functions[ 2 , 4 ].…”

Artificial intelligence and guidance of medicine in the bubble

“…Molecular imaging is an advanced way for decoding the biological processes to visualize and reveal the cellular events at molecular level [ 16 , 17 ]. For example, quantum dots are photostable for longer duration and enhance the imaging of deep tissues [ 17 ].…”