ABSTRACT
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from cancer cells have gained tremendous importance as a source of cancer biomarkers. EVs derived from the bodily fluids of patients can be utilized for liquid biopsies to facilitate early cancer detection. However, due to dynamic biogenesis, diversity in size, composition and origin, elaborate investigations on EVs are challenging. Hence, there is an urgent need for analytical techniques to explore the biophysical characteristics of EVs to expedite their use as a potential non-invasive cancer detection platform. Here, we discuss applications of infrared (IR), Raman spectroscopy, mass spectrometry (MS), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and atomic force microscopy and spectroscopy (AFM/AFS) in identifying EV-based cancer biomarkers.
