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Table 1 Overview of EVs enrichment methods

From: The role of extracellular vesicles in osteoarthritis treatment via microenvironment regulation

Enrichment method

Principle

Advantages

Limitations

Reference(s)

Ultracentrifugation

Density

The most commonly used and well-established program

Simple

Relatively high yield

Bulky

Requires expensive instruments

Time-consuming

Contamination with aggregated protein and ribonucleoprotein particles

Requires a large amount of sample

Low purity

[61,62,63,64]

Gradient ultracentrifugation

Based on the density gradient of the solution

Most commonly used method

Relatively high purity

Maintains EV integrity

Time-consuming

Requires a large amount of sample

Require expensive instrumentation

Lower yield

[61,62,63,64]

Size-exclusion chromatography

Particle size and molecular mass

Economic

Relatively high purity

Maintains EV integrity

Multiple eluents

Time-consuming

Lack of specificity

Difficult to produce on a large scale

Contamination

[63]

Field flow fractionation

Particle size and molecular mass

High yield

High purity

Time-efficient

Lack of specificity

Difficult to produce on a large scale

Requires complex equipment

Difficult to perform

[62, 65]

Coprecipitation

Surface charge

Processing that is easy to use

Lack of specificity

Difficult to produce on a large scale

[66]

Affinity capture

Based on the interaction between captured molecules and EVs antigens

High purity

Specific separation

High cost

Only specific target proteins can be isolated

Low yield

[61, 64]