Drug Delivery with Extracellular Vesicles: From Imagination to Innovation

ConspectusExtracellular vesicles are nanoparticles produced by cells. They are composed of cellular membrane with associated membrane proteins that surrounds an aqueous core containing soluble molecules such as proteins and nucleic acids, like miRNA and mRNA. They are important in many physiological and pathological processes as they can transfer biological molecules from producer cells to acceptor cells. Preparation of the niche for cancer metastasis, stimulation of tissue regeneration and orchestration of the immune response are examples of the diverse processes in which extracellular vesicles have been implicated. As a result, these vesicles have formed a source of inspiration for many scientific fields. They could be used, for example, as liquid biopsies in diagnostics, as therapeutics in regenerative medicine, or as drug delivery vehicles for transport of medicines. In this Account, we focus on drug delivery applications.As we learn more and more about these vesicles, the complexity increases. What o...