Exosomes: Large-scale production, isolation, drug loading efficiency, and biodistribution and uptake

Exosomes are nanovesicles with different contents that play a role in various biological and pathological processes. It offers significant advantages over other delivery systems such as liposomes and polymeric nanoparticles. Although exosomes are expected to be effective therapeutic agents, their optimal use remains a challenge. The development of methods for large-scale production, isolation, and drug loading is necessary to improve their efficiency and therapeutic potential. In this review, after mentioning general properties and biological functions of the exosomes, details of their potential for use in the drug delivery system are presented. For this purpose, methodologies for the large-scale production of exosomes, exosome isolation, exosomal cargo loading, and exosome uptake by the recipient cell are reviewed. The current challenges and potential directions of this new area of drug delivery that has become popular recently are also investigated.