Genetic modification of bacterial extracellular vesicles for vaginal drug delivery

Introduction: Vaginal delivery is an ideal approach for targeting the female reproductive tract, as it increases the drug therapeutic potential while reducing side effects. Bacterial extracellular vesicles (bEVs) are promising drug carriers due to their innate barrier crossing and cell targeting ability [1]. Compared to post-isolation cargo loading, genetically engineering bEVs reduces manufacturing costs and increases efficiency and homogeneity. This study aims to evaluate the safety and potential of bEVs as a drug delivery system and determine the genetic and growth conditions that maximize cargo loading.