Table 2.

Advantages and disadvantages of methods to isolate exosomes

Methods	Advantages	Disadvantages
Differential centrifugation	Relatively simple and low cost	Requires ultracentrifuge machine
	Most commonly used method not using a commercial kit	Requires relatively large sample volume
		Possible mechanical damage
Density-gradient ultracentrifugation	Provides the purest exosome	Relatively low yield
		Labor-intensive and complicated processes
		Hard to standardize
Size-exclusion chromatography	Allows passage of intact vesicles of regular shape	Possible contamination with other types of vesicles having similar size as exosomes (e.g., small microvesicles)
	Relatively simple
Polymer-based precipitation	Easy, fast, and high-throughput to perform	Low in purity with coisolate contaminants such as lipoproteins, albumin, and protein aggregates
	Available for small samples volume (<100 μL)
Imunoaffinity-based capture	Allows isolation of selective exosomes	Possible loss of functional activity of antibody targeting a subpopulation of exosomes