Table 2 Overview the characteristics of the described exosome isolation methods
From: Mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosome: a promising alternative in the therapy of Alzheimer’s disease
| Methods | Working principle | Advantages | Disadvantages | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UC | Differential centrifugationbased on density |
Reduced protein contamination High purity | Low yield, difficult to separate particles of similar size, expensive equipment support | [99,100,101] |
| Density gradient |
Based on density additional steps after centrifugation | High purity | Low yield, time-consuming | [102] |
| SEC | Based on hydrodynamic radius |
Good reproducibility, rapid and mild Reduced protein contamination | Low sample recovery | [103, 104] |
| Filtration | Based on molecular mass and size | Simple and time-saving | Potential to alter structural integrity, low sample recovery | [105, 106] |
| Immunoaffinity | Antibody capture | High selectivity and purity, no need for additional equipment support | High cost, nonspecific binding | [107] |
| Commercial kits | Precipitation with chemicals | High yield | High protein contamination | [53, 58] |
| AF4 | Laminar flow | Classification of EV subtypes, efficiently | Low sample recovery and repeatability | [108] |
| Nano-FCM | High-resolution flow cytometry | High-fidelity sorting | Simultaneous detection of multiple EVs, expensive equipment support | [109] |
| Microfluidics | Based on physical or mechanical characteristics | Low sample volumes, rapid and high purity | Not suitable for large sample processing, expensive equipment support | [110] |