Table 1.

Summary of the key advantages and disadvantages of the various exosome isolation techniques including ultracentrifugation, ultrafiltration, size exclusion chromatography, immunoaffinity, and polymer precipitation

Exosome Isolation Technique	Principle	Advantages	Disadvantages	References
Differential ultracentrifugation	Density	Requires a small volume of reagents Suitable for large volumes	Labor intensive Time consuming Large expensive equipment Not suitable for small volume samples Exosome rupture/aggregation	(74, 75)
Density gradient ultracentrifugation	Density	Separates different EV subgroups Less exosome rupture/aggregation Requires a small volume of reagents Suitable for large volumes	Labor intensive Time consuming Large expensive equipment Not suitable for small volume samples	(76, 77)
Ultrafiltration	SizeMolecular weight	No large, expensive equipment Relatively fast	Filter pore clogging Moderate purity Exosome deformation	(78, 79, 80)
Size-exclusion chromatography	Size	Exosome structure and function are preserved Relatively fast Requires few reagents High Purity Little sample loss	Lipoprotein coisolation	(78, 81)
Immunoaffinity	Exosome surface markers	High exosome yieldHigh purity	Antigen masking Exosome damage	(82, 83)
Polymer precipitation	Precipitation	No large, expensive equipment Exosome structure and function are preserved	Coisolation of EV, proteins, and lipoproteins Exosome aggregation	(66, 84)

EV, extracellular vesicles.