Described herein are hybrid nanoparticles that are exosomes loaded with one or more nanoparticle dendrimers. Also included are pharmaceutical compositions including the hybrid nanoparticles and methods of making the hybrid nanoparticles. Also described is a method of treating a human subject by administering to the human subject the above-described hybrid nanoparticles.

Disclosed are methods, compositions of matter, and protocols useful for the detection of altered cells in a patient. Immune cells capable of clonal expansion are engineered to produce a soluble signal upon activation and/or clonal expansion. The cells may possess a suicide gene, inducible upon administration pharmacological or light/radiation activatable, so as to eliminate the cells from body when desired. In another embodiment, immune cells produce a localized marker, the marker being visible with imaging technology. In other embodiments cells capable of non-clonal expansion are utilized. The disclosure provides means of utilizing the immunosurveillance properties of immune cells to diagnose and localize diseases associated with alteration of host cells.

The present invention relates to, inter alia, engineered bacteria expressing (i) a surface protein, which specifically interacts cell membrane receptors that are exposed to the luminal side of epithelial cells of diseased gastrointestinal tissue and/or epithelial tissue lining the bile duct, pancreatic duct, or common bile duct, etc., and (ii) a detection marker. The engineered bacteria of the present technology are useful for detecting diseased gastrointestinal tissue and/or epithelial tissue lining the bile duct, pancreatic duct, or common bile duct, etc.

Methods for producing engineered exosomes and other vesicle-like biological targets, including allowing a target vesicle-like structure to react and bind with immunomagnetic particles; capturing the immunomagnetic particle/vesicle complex by applying a magnetic field; further engineering the captured vesicles by surface modifying with additional active moieties or internally loading with active agents; and releasing the engineered vesicle-like structures, such as by photolytically cleaving a linkage between the particle and engineered vesicle-like structures, thereby releasing intact vesicle-like structures which can act as delivery vehicles for therapeutic treatments.

Disclosed herein are bioluminescent indictors comprising a bioluminescent peptide split by a binding peptide capable of binding a ligand. The bioluminescent indicator bioluminesces upon binding of the binding peptide to its ligand to bring the regions of the bioluminescent peptide into such proximity that the indicator bioluminesces. The bioluminescent indicator may further comprise a leader domain and a transmembrane domain. The bioluminescent indicator acts as a biosensor that can detect and quantify a ligand without the need for an additional light source. Methods for imaging internal body structures are also presented.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a therapeutic agent or a diagnostic agent for cancer, which has high selectivity to cancer and also has low toxicity or little side effects. According to the present invention, provided is a therapeutic agent or a diagnostic agent for cancer, comprising photosynthetic bacteria.

The present invention features adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors, compositions thereof, and methods of use thereof for transducing neurons with injured axons.

Sequences that enhance permeation of agents into cells and/or across the blood brain barrier, compositions comprising the sequences, and methods of use thereof.

The present invention relates to a composition for material delivery, including exosome mimetics derived from red blood cells, and a use thereof and the composition for material delivery according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes exosome mimetics derived from red blood cells, which are capable of being loaded with a drug, a radioactive material, or a fluorescent material, and thus may be usefully utilized for a drug delivery use, a cell labeling use, a contrast medium, or the like, and when the composition for material delivery according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is used, treatment and diagnosis may be simultaneously performed.

Extracellular vesicles isolated from blood plasma of oncological patients for selectively delivering therapeutic or diagnostic drugs are provided. Methods for isolating extracellular vesicles from an isolated sample of blood plasma and for preparing an isolated sample of blood plasma from oncological patients are also provided.