Microfluidics-Based Analysis in Exosome Isolation

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Exosomes are the smallest extracellular vesicles (approximately 30–150 nm) and are generally packaged with lipids, proteins, functional messenger RNA and microRNA, and double-stranded DNA from the cell which they originated, as a key participant in intercellular communication. Because of its ability to protect information molecules from degradation in body fluids, it has become an attractive candidate for innovative diagnostic and therapeutic applications. However, routine isolation and analysis of high-purity exosomes in clinical settings is challenging. Traditional methods face many disadvantages, including low yield and/or purity, long processing time, high cost, and difficulty in standardization.

To solve these problems, Creative Biolabs provides a solution with great development potential through our microfluidic technology platform, combining many separations and sensing functions for exosome separation, detection and analysis, focusing on Medical and clinical applications. Our services not only promote basic research, but also pave the way for routine exosome-based liquid biopsies in personalized medicine.

Fig.1 Exosomes represent a subset of extracellular vesicles with characteristic size in the ~30–150 nm range. (Contreras-Naranjo, 2017)

General Approaches of Exosome Isolation

Due to the important role of exosomes in coordinating cell-to-cell communication and molecular exchange, it has become one of the focal areas in biological and medical research. Exosomes contain personalized information related to disease status, treatment response, exposure to environmental cues, and countless other health factors, which are present in vesicle packaging that can be collected from body fluid samples. But the biggest challenge at present is the lack of effective and standard techniques to isolate and analyze clinical-grade exosomes, difficulties that are compounded when dealing with raw biological fluids that inherently contain a high proportion of proteins, other extracellular vesicles, and cells with similar physical and/or biomolecular characteristics as exosomes. Current isolation methods either rely on the difference in size between exosomes or on specific surface markers. Conventional techniques based on these principles include ultracentrifugation, precipitation, filtration, chromatography, and immunoaffinity-based methods.

Microfluidic-based Exosome Isolation Service

Based on comprehensive Microfluidic technology platforms, Creative Biolabs provides one-stop Microfluidic chip development services for exosome isolation.

Immunoaffinity capture. The specific capture of exosomes by antibodies immobilized on a solid surface represents the most commonly used separation method. The targeted exosome marker depends on the specific application and whether a specific subpopulation of exosomes is being isolated.
Membrane-based filtration. Microfluidic devices can use in-situ tunable nanoporous membranes that allow small external vesicles to pass through while removing cells and other debris.
Acoustic isolation. The acoustic standing field established in the fluid medium will produce different acoustic radiation forces according to the nature of the particles, acting on the particles immersed in the fluid. This technology provides high separation yield and electronically controls the critical value of particle size in situ, which helps to fractionate different types of microbubbles.
Exosome trapping on nanowires. The microfluidic platform can utilize the cilia nanowire structure on the cilia for multi-scale filtration, which can capture liposome-like lipid vesicles.

If you want to inquire more about our microfluidics-based exosome isolation services, please contact us.

Reference

Contreras-Naranjo, J, C.; et al. Microfluidics for exosome isolation and analysis: enabling liquid biopsy for personalized medicine. Lab on a Chip. 2017, 17.21: 3558-3577.

For Research Use Only. Not For Clinical Use.