Unlocking the potential of bacterial membrane vesicles: Advances in isolation techniques and biomedical applications

Bacterial membrane vesicles (MVs) are nanosized, lipid bilayer-enclosed structures released by both Gram-positive (commonly referred as MVS, bacterial membrane vesicles) and Gram-negative bacteria (commonly referred as OMVs, outer membrane vesicles and outer-inner membrane vesicles (OIMVs)). They carry proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and metabolites, playing key roles in intercellular communication, host-pathogen interactions, and immune modulation. Owing to these properties, MVs are attracting growing interest as versatile tools for vaccine development, drug delivery, and diagnostic applications. However, their translation remains constrained by low production yields, potential toxicity, and the lack of standardized isolation and characterization methods. This review summarizes current knowledge on MV composition and biogenesis, with a particular focus on emerging strategies for their isolation and engineering, and highlights their biomedical potential while outlining the challenges that must be overcome to enable future clinical applications.