Date of Award

Spring 2025

Document Type

Thesis - SCU Access Only

Publisher

Santa Clara : Santa Clara University, 2025

Department

Bioengineering

First Advisor

Bill Lu

Abstract

Exosomes are naturally occurring nanoparticles with unique properties that make them particularly promising as targeted, versatile carriers in drug delivery. They have the potential to revolutionize the field with their capacity to localize in desired microenvironments and cross the blood brain barrier (BBB). Currently, the treatment efforts of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease are greatly hindered by the presence of the BBB. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are some of the most common treatments for cancers, yet they lack specificity. Modified exosomes loaded with molecular cargo may serve as a solution to these pressing drug delivery issues. Our project explores exosome surface modification by seven selected molecular scaffolds: CD63, LAMP-2B, VSVG, FAR, ACY, GPI, and C1C2, all of which have the ability to load protein drugs internally and/or externally respective to the exosome lumen. Through the use of molecular scaffold colocalization, imaging analysis, exosome harvesting, and uptake assays, we have determined that the molecular scaffold that most efficiently modifies the exosome surface is VSVG and recommend that it be used in future research efforts involving exosome cargo loading.

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