Exosome-like nanovesicles (EVNs): A comprehensive overview of their isolation, characterization and biological...

Exosome-like nanovesicles (ENVs) are nanosized particles produced by cells with phospholipid bilayers, which contain unique bioactive components such as lipids, proteins, nucleic acids and metabolites. Previous research have demonstrated that ENVs possessed a wide range of biological functions, including anti-oxidant, anti-inflammation, anti-cancer activities, etc. However, there is still a lack of sufficient knowledge about the isolation, characterization, delivery system, functional activities and the underlying mechanisms of ENVs. This review aims to explores the sources, composition, separation and purification, characterization methods, and biological functions of ENVs based on the latest research. Moreover, we summarizes the molecular mechanisms through which ENVs exert their pharmacological effects, emphasizing that ENVs brings positive impacts on human health through multiple pathways. The future research on ENVs should focus on developing high-purity, low-cost separation and purification technologies, improving characterization techniques, and establishing standardized evaluation systems to further unlock the potential applications in the food industry.