A systematic review on the modifications of extracellular vesicles: a revolutionized tool of nano-biotechnology

Abstract

Background: Tailoring extracellular vesicles (EVs) can bequeath them with diverse functions and efficient performance in nano-biotechnology. Engineering and modification of EVs improves the targeted drug delivery efficiency. Here, we performed systematic review of various methods for EVs modifications. Methods: PubMed, Scopus, ISI Web of Science, EMBASE, and Google Scholar were searched for available articles on EVs modifications (up to March 2021). In total, 1208 articles were identified and assessed, and then only 36 articles were found eligible and included. Results: Six studies demonstrate the application of click chemistry, seven studies used co-incubation, two studies used chemical transfection, four studies implicated electroporation and sonication approach for modification of EVs. Moreover, two studies utilized microfluidics as suitable approach for loading cargo into EVs, while eight studies showed freeze–thaw method as feasible for these biological nanoparticles. Conclusion: Freeze–thaw approach is found to be convenient and popular among researchers for performing modifications in EVs for the purpose of targeted drug delivery loading. Clinical-grade EVs production with good clinical practices (GCPs) is challenging in the current scenario. More studies are needed to determine the best suitable approach for cargo loading of EVs that may be exploited for research and therapeutic use. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) can be modified using various methods available including physical, chemical and engineering based. These tailoring methods are helpful in targeting drug delivery to treat various diseases. Moreover, EVs have the ability to modify that’s due to presence of lipid bilayer membrane, that’s effectively participate in loading and unloading of desired drug.EVs expressed from the specific cell types can give useful information about the pathogenesis of a particular disease in the form of unique nucleic acids, protein and lipid sequences and therefore, EVs derived from these cells can be used as specific diagnostic biomarker for diagnosis of diseases.Modified EVs using various drugs or miRNAs can be used for targeted drug delivery to specific cells.