Label-free sensing of extracellular vesicles
Dealing with highly heterogenous populations of analytes, specifically extracellular vesicles (EVs), remains a fundamental challenge in the field of biosensing due to the reliance of either bulk-based measurements or low-throughput approaches.
As such, our research addresses this issue by developing a dedicated platform that can routinely and robustly characterise and simultaneously screen for specific surface biomarkers from a population of EVs at the single-vesicle level.
Motivation
In recent years, the amount of research dedicated to the study of extracellular vesicles (EVs), highly heterogeneous membrane-bound structures continuously secreted by cells, has dramatically increased across a wide range of disciplines. One of the main reasons of their relevance across multiple fields is that extracellular vesicles can be found in most biological fluids, usually in high concentration, and contain biochemical signatures from their parent cell in the form of proteins, lipids, mRNA and microRNA. Thanks to these properties, extracellular vesicles are considered as emerging biomarkers for a diverse set of diseases encompassing Alzheimer’s to various forms of cancer. Despite the surge in scientific interest, little is still known about the fundamental properties of extracellular vesicles. This is mostly due to the large heterogeneity and small size of these ensemble of particles that limit their detection and respective characterisation with current technology.
Research focus
- Developing a robust and high throughput optical platform that can screen for different biomarkers within a single EV populations.
- Physically characterising subpopulations within EVs.
- Implementing novel substrates to capture EVs from solution and in the future directly from serum.