Repurposing of Exosomes for Nanomedicine

Delivery of pharmacological inhibitors, vaccines, and nucleic acids can be facilitated through vehicles such as lipid nanoparticles. Exosomes are naturally-produced vesicles that deliver functional materials to specific tissues in vivo. Unlike synthetic nanoparticles, they are inert to immune responses. We have developed a GMP-ready purification pipeline for the large-scale isolation of genetically modified exosomes, demonstrated safety in non-human primates, and suitability as cancer drug-delivery vehicles. We propose to use these exosomes for individualized delivery of cancer drugs and other biologics, such as vaccine formulations.

Presenter: Dirk Dittmer, PhD, professor of microbiology and immunology, UNC School of Medicine; Ryan McNamara, research associate scientist

How to connect:

Email: Dirk Dittmer: ddittmer@med.unc.edu, Ryan McNamara: ryanpm@email.unc.edu