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Review
. 2018 Nov 6;10(4):218.
doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics10040218.

Exosomes and Exosome-Inspired Vesicles for Targeted Drug Delivery

Sophia G Antimisiaris  1   2 , Spyridon Mourtas  3 , Antonia Marazioti  4
Affiliations
Review

Exosomes and Exosome-Inspired Vesicles for Targeted Drug Delivery

Sophia G Antimisiaris et al. Pharmaceutics. .

Abstract

The similarities between exosomes and liposomes, together with the high organotropism of several types of exosomes, have recently prompted the development of engineered-exosomes or exosome-mimetics, which may be artificial (liposomal) or cell-derived vesicles, as advanced platforms for targeted drug delivery. Here, we provide the current state-of-the-art of using exosome or exosome-inspired systems for drug delivery. We review the various approaches investigated and the shortcomings of each approach. Finally the challenges which have been identified to date in this field are summarized.

Keywords: bioinspired systems; drug delivery; drug targeting; engineered systems; exosomes; extracellular vesicles; liposomes.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, and in the decision to publish.

Figures

Scheme 1
Scheme 1
Types of extracellular vesicles (EVs) and characteristics. (i) Origin; (ii) Shape and Size distribution; (iii) Main components.
Figure 1
Figure 1
Representation of the biogenesis of extracellular vesicles from eukaryotic cell.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The basic structural characteristics, as well as the main similarities and differences of liposomes and exosomes are presented.
Scheme 2
Scheme 2
Advantages and disadvantages of liposomes and exosomes.
Scheme 3
Scheme 3
Classification of EV-like vesicles used for drug delivery applications.
Scheme 4
Scheme 4
Categories of methods used for loading drugs into EXs and EX-like vesicles.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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