Exosomes in regenerative medicine from biological messengers to engineered nanocarriers for precision therapeutics
6 affiliations
- 1GloNeuro, Sector 107, Vishwakarma Road, Noida, 201301 India
- 2School of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsang, 38541 South Korea
- 3Research Institute of Cell Culture, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, 38541 South Korea
- 4Symbiosis Centre for Information Technology, Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune, 411057 India
- 5GL Bajaj Institute of Technology and Management, Greater, 201308 Noida India
- 6Symbiosis Institute of Health Sciences (SIHS), Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Lavale, Pune, 412 115 India
Abstract
Exosomes have emerged as a promising class of next-generation nanocarriers at the intersection of regenerative medicine and drug delivery. Compared with conventional synthetic nanocarriers and stem cell-based therapies, exosomes offer unique advantages, including intrinsic biocompatibility, low immunogenicity, blood-barrier penetration, and natural intercellular cargo transfer. This review critically examines exosome biology, beginning with their biogenesis, structural composition, and roles in cellular homeostasis, immune regulation, autophagy, and tissue repair. Particular emphasis is placed on their therapeutic relevance in wound healing, neuroregeneration, cardiovascular repair, musculoskeletal regeneration, and cancer. The review further discusses major strategies for exosomal cargo engineering, including passive loading, electroporation, sonication, transfection-based approaches, extrusion, freeze–thaw treatment, and chemical functionalization. In addition, scaffold-assisted delivery systems and hybrid exosome–synthetic nanocarrier platforms are highlighted as important advances for improving local retention, targeting precision, and controlled release. Despite strong preclinical promise, translation remains limited by challenges in scalable manufacturing, purification, batch consistency, loading efficiency, potency assessment, and regulatory standardization. Future progress in this field will depend on the development of scalable and GMP-compatible exosome manufacturing, standardized purification and characterization methods, validated potency assays, regulatory-aligned quality control, and artificial intelligence (AI) engineering strategies to translate exosome-based platforms into safe, reproducible, and clinically effective regenerative therapeutics.
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BibTeX
@article{ghosh2026exosomes,
title = {{Exosomes in regenerative medicine from biological messengers to engineered nanocarriers for precision therapeutics}},
author = {Shampa Ghosh and Rakesh Bhaskar and Krishna Kumar Singh and Samarth Sharma and Sung Soo Han and Jitendra Kumar Sinha},
journal = {Discover Nano},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1186/s11671-026-05089-1},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s11671-026-05089-1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Exosomes in regenerative medicine from biological messengers to engineered nanocarriers for precision therapeutics
AU - Shampa Ghosh
AU - Rakesh Bhaskar
AU - Krishna Kumar Singh
AU - Samarth Sharma
AU - Sung Soo Han
AU - Jitendra Kumar Sinha
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/03
JO - Discover Nano
DO - 10.1186/s11671-026-05089-1
UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/s11671-026-05089-1
AB - Exosomes have emerged as a promising class of next-generation nanocarriers at the intersection of regenerative medicine and drug delivery. Compared with conventional synthetic nanocarriers and stem cell-based therapies, exosomes offer unique advantages, including intrinsic biocompatibility, low immunogenicity, blood-barrier penetration, and natural intercellular cargo transfer. This review critically examines exosome biology, beginning with their biogenesis, structural composition, and roles in cellular homeostasis, immune regulation, autophagy, and tissue repair. Particular emphasis is placed on their therapeutic relevance in wound healing, neuroregeneration, cardiovascular repair, musculoskeletal regeneration, and cancer. The review further discusses major strategies for exosomal cargo engineering, including passive loading, electroporation, sonication, transfection-based approaches, extrusion, freeze–thaw treatment, and chemical functionalization. In addition, scaffold-assisted delivery systems and hybrid exosome–synthetic nanocarrier platforms are highlighted as important advances for improving local retention, targeting precision, and controlled release. Despite strong preclinical promise, translation remains limited by challenges in scalable manufacturing, purification, batch consistency, loading efficiency, potency assessment, and regulatory standardization. Future progress in this field will depend on the development of scalable and GMP-compatible exosome manufacturing, standardized purification and characterization methods, validated potency assays, regulatory-aligned quality control, and artificial intelligence (AI) engineering strategies to translate exosome-based platforms into safe, reproducible, and clinically effective regenerative therapeutics.
SN - 2731-9229
ER -