ABSTRACT
While extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been established as critical mediators of intercellular communication, they have also emerged as promising delivery vehicles for cargos such as therapeutic biomolecules. Early evidence suggests that EVs may have significant advantages over synthetic nanoparticle delivery systems for particular applications. Targeted delivery of EV-encapsulated cargo has already been realized and may have broad applicability. In this chapter, we outline the major benefits of using EVs for drug delivery and current methods for active and passive loading of EVs with payloads of therapeutic nucleic acid, in particular, short interfering RNA (siRNA). The methods described here may shed light on future design of targeted delivery of nucleic acids via EVs.
