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Review
. 2023 Jun 17;24(12):10267.
doi: 10.3390/ijms241210267.

Extracellular Vesicles as Drug Transporters

Monika Nowak  1 , Julia Górczyńska  1 , Katarzyna Kołodzińska  2 , Jakub Rubin  1 , Anna Choromańska  3
Affiliations
Review

Extracellular Vesicles as Drug Transporters

Monika Nowak et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are lipid bilayer-delimited particles. According to their size and synthesis pathway, EVs can be classified into exosomes, ectosomes (microvesicles), and apoptotic bodies. Extracellular vesicles are of great interest to the scientific community due to their role in cell-to-cell communication and their drug-carrying abilities. The study aims to show opportunities for the application of EVs as drug transporters by considering techniques applicable for loading EVs, current limitations, and the uniqueness of this idea compared to other drug transporters. In addition, EVs have therapeutic potential in anticancer therapy (especially in glioblastoma, pancreatic cancer, and breast cancer).

Keywords: cancer treatment; drug delivery; engineering; extracellular vesicles; nanomedicine.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Biogenesis of exosomes and microvesicles.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The opportunities and limitations of EVs as drug transporters.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Techniques applicable for loading EVs.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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