What are the challenges of exosomes as carriers?

Exosomes are tiny, membrane-bound vesicles that originate within the cell’s endosomal compartment. Although they offer significant advantages as drug carriers, particularly in cancer therapy, there are a few challenges associated with the use of exosomes as carriers.

Challenges of exosomes as carriers include:

• Heterogeneity: Exosomes vary in size, content, and source, making it difficult to standardize their production.
• Low yield: Isolating sufficient quantities of exosomes from complex biological fluids is challenging, limiting their practical application in therapeutics.
• Limited drug loading efficiency: Current methods for loading drugs into exosomes are not highly efficient, reducing their effectiveness as carriers.
• Research is limited to in vitro processes: Most studies done so far involve in vitro models and their effectiveness for in vivo processes is not fully confirmed.