Microfluidics for extracellular vesicle separation and mimetic synthesis: Recent advances and future perspectives

• Published in: Chemical engineering journal (Lausanne, Switzerland : 1996) Vol. 404
• Main Authors: Meng, Yingchao, Asghari, Mohammad, Aslan, Mahmut Kamil, Yilmaz, Alperen, Mateescu, Bogdan, Stavrakis, Stavros, deMello, Andrew J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 15.01.2021
• Subjects: Biomarkers; Extracellular vesicles; Microfluidics; Mimetics; Separation; Extracellular vesicles; Biomarkers; Separation; Microfluidics; Mimetics
• ISSN: 1385-8947; 1873-3212
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2020.126110

•Microfluidic tools for extracellular vesicle (EV) separation.•Microfluidic methods for the synthesis of EV mimetics for drug delivery applications.•Challenges and future applications of microfluidic-based tools for EV manipulation. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) play a critical role in the regulation of various biological processes and pathologies, and have significant utility as potential diagnostic biomarkers and drug delivery systems. That said, conventional methods for EV manipulation and analysis suffer from several drawbacks, including low yield and/or purity, complexity and high cost. For these reasons, there has been growing interest in the development of microfluidic-based tools for fast and efficient EV processing. Herein, we first highlight some of the most interesting recent advances in microfluidic technologies for the separation of EVs, as well as the synthesis of EV mimetics for drug delivery applications. We then discuss the advantages and disadvantages of currently available technologies and provide opinion on some of the most important future challenges and areas of application.