Recent advances for synchronous detection of multiplexed biomarkers in exosomes

Exosomes are nanosized vesicles secreted by cells and widely exist in various body fluids. Exosomal surface proteins, internal nucleic acid types and levels are closely related to the occurrence and development of tumor. Leading to a deeper understanding of biological information, thereby enhancing the accuracy of cancer screening and facilitating the advancement of precision medicine. Currently, the conventional detection methods for exosome biomarkers mainly include western blotting, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and RT-PCR, which still have problems of complicated operation, long time consumption, and low sensitivity. Emerging synchronous detection methods for multiple biomarkers of exosomes have several advantages, including small sample size, high sensitivity, wide detection range, and high throughput. In this review, we systematically summarize both conventional and emerging methods for exosomal biomarker detection, especially the synchronous multi-biomarker analysis techniques (e.g., multiplexed protein profiling, simultaneous miRNA detection, and integrated protein-miRNA analysis). Finally, we summarize their clinical translation potential and discuss future research directions in this field.