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Updated: Oct 1, 2025
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Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis for the Quantification and Size Determination of Extracellular Vesicles
Published on: March 28, 2021
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Extracellular Vesicles Mediate the Intercellular Exchange of Nanoparticles
Xian Wu1, Tang Tang1, Yushuang Wei1
1Department of Pharmaceutics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA.
Advanced Science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany)
|March 4, 2022
Summary
Nanoparticles (NPs) use intercellular exchange, involving exocytosis and re-entry, for tissue transport. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) play a significant role in this NP transport, facilitating delivery into complex tissues.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Nanotechnology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Nanoparticles (NPs) require transcellular transport for therapeutic delivery into multilayered tissues.
- While NP uptake and intracellular transport are understood, NP exocytosis and re-entry (intercellular exchange) remain poorly characterized, hindering effective delivery.
- Understanding intercellular exchange is critical for advancing NP-based therapies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a quantitative assay for measuring nanoparticle (NP) intercellular exchange.
- To elucidate the mechanisms of NP exocytosis and re-entry between cells.
- To investigate the role of extracellular vesicles (EVs) in NP intercellular transport.
Main Methods:
- Development of a collagen-based three-dimensional (3D) assay to quantify NP intercellular exchange.
- Distinguishing between free NP exocytosis and EV-enclosed NP transport.
- In vitro and in vivo validation of NP transport mechanisms.
Main Results:
- Nanoparticles are exocytosed either freely or enclosed within extracellular vesicles (EVs) for subsequent cell entry.
- EVs mediate a significant portion of NP intercellular exchange, crucial for transport in complex tissues.
- Freely released NPs use cell receptors for re-entry, whereas EV-enclosed NPs bypass this receptor-dependent mechanism.
Conclusions:
- A novel 3D assay enables precise quantification of NP intercellular exchange.
- Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are key mediators of nanoparticle transport between cells and into tissues.
- This research highlights the critical, previously underestimated role of EVs in nanoparticle delivery systems.
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