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University of Queensland researchers have discovered a reagent capable of removing excess lipoprotein contaminants from samples of biofluid-derived extracellular vesicles.
About
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nanosized biomolecular packages involved in intercellular communication. EVs are released by all cell types, making them broadly applicable in therapeutic and diagnostic applications. EVs are a promising next generation cell-free therapy and drug delivery platform and have potential as biomarkers for diseases diagnosis. Sample purity is critical to maximise performance and correctly attribute observed therapeutic or diagnostic effects to EVs rather than other biological particles. Lipoprotein contaminants represent a major challenge for obtaining pure samples of biofluid-derived EVs.Lipoproteins are six orders of magnitude more abundant than EVs in the blood circulation and overlap in size, shape, and density with EVs. These contaminants have the potential to cause: Lack of sensitivity in diagnostic EV assays Lack of efficacy in therapeutic EV developmentInaccurate & unreliable results in mechanistic EV studiesVarious methods are used to isolate EVs, including differential ultracentrifugation, density gradient ultracentrifugation, size-exclusion chromatography (SEC), tangential flow filtration (TFF), and precipitation-based isolation. Alone, all these methods are insufficient at removing lipoproteins while retaining EV yield and morphology. The current gold standard for lipoprotein removal is combining several EV isolation methods, which is a time consuming and expensive process that can negatively impact EV yield.
Key Benefits
Simple and effective method for improved removal of lipoproteins, major contaminants in biofluid-derived EVs Improved EV yield while preserving EV morphology Compatible with industry standard purification methods including TFF and SEC
Applications
Incorporation of Reagent A into EV purification kits and workflows for research or manufacturing applicationsConjugation of Reagent A to solid supports including resins or columnsIncorporation into EV biomarker-based diagnostic assays with potential for enhanced sensitivity due to improved sample purityImproved purification of other plasma components – lipoproteins can interfere with plasma fractionation