Organic Exosomes for Tailored Anti-Cancer Medication Delivery

Abstract

Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) encompasses a diverse array of vesicles generated by cells, with exosomes constituting the most prominent subset within this classification. Exosomes facilitate intercellular communication by transporting various biologics derived from donor or parental cells and delivering them to recipient cells. The potential of their distinctive ability to transport cargo has recently been investigated for its application to provide anti-cancer medications and imaging agents. Exosomes, which are endogenously generated, possess numerous advantages compared to the presently employed synthetic lipid-based nanoparticles for clinical applications in cancer treatment and other medical conditions. Identifying exosomes' involvement in human diseases has prompted extensive preclinical and clinical investigations into their potential as a viable means of Drug Delivery (DD) and as a theranostic tool for cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Nevertheless, it is crucial to acknowledge that exosomes possess certain limitations, with one of the primary concerns revolving around the choice of the biological source utilized to generate exosomes that are both highly biocompatible and capable of being produced in large quantities. This paper examines the diverse origins of medically feasible exosomes that can be extracted to serve as drug carriers in the context of cancer therapy. The synthesis of nanosomes for anti-cancer DD has been presented in this paper. Nanosomes have been obtained by integrating Doxorubicin-conjugated Gold Nanoparticles (DOX-GNP) and organic exosomes. The precise delivery of "armed" exosomes to tumor masses can be achieved through either "passive" targeting, which relies on the inherent tropism of exosomes, or "active" targeting, which involves modifying the surface of exosomal membranes. Despite the numerous advantages of exosomes compared to synthetic nanoparticles, there are still obstacles to overcome to improve the efficiency of loading anti-cancer agents into exosomes. Additionally, there is a need to develop quantitative and qualitative analytical techniques for monitoring the delivery of exosomes and exosome-incorporated anti-cancer agents to the tumor parenchyma in vivo.