Modular protein adapter technology enables exosome-based precision drug delivery

The collaborative research team has developed a modular protein adapter technology that allows for stable attachment of various substances to the surface of extracellular vesicles (exosomes). It was designed to allow functional molecules to efficiently bind even in complex environments of the cell membrane. This study demonstrated the potential for developing customized therapeutics.

The research team was led by Professor Kyungmoo Yea from the new Faculty of Biology and Professor Daeha Seo from the Faculty of Chemistry Physics at DGIST, and was led by Professor Moon-Chang Baek from the Faculty of Medicine at Kyungpook National University.

This paper is published in Journal Acs Nano.

Exosomes play an important role in cell-cell signaling, and due to their naturally occurring properties within the body, they are attracting attention as next-generation drug delivery carriers. However, traditional methods of modifying the surface of exosomes via chemical reactions pose a risk of structural damage or functional degradation. Furthermore, these methods have limitations on the precise quantification of connected materials.

To overcome these limitations, the research team developed a protein adapter-based platform technology. This newly developed technology is designed to stably attach a variety of functional substances to the surface of exosomes without directly modifying the surface. Experimental results confirmed the possibility of using this approach to generate customized exosomes.

Additionally, the team successfully quantified the amount of drug attached to individual exosomes using a super-resolution microscope. This outcome will help address the lack of quantitative analytical methods in traditional drug development and increase the clinical applicability of exosome-based therapeutics. In particular, the team demonstrated that antibody-bound exosomes can effectively target cancer cells and improve anti-cancer efficacy.

Professor Yea of ​​Dgist said, “This research brings us closer to the development of next-generation therapeutics using exosomes. We hope that this platform technology, which supports modular assembly of functional elements, will drive the development of therapeutics optimized for a variety of diseases.”