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Updated: Feb 14, 2026

Techniques for the Analysis of Extracellular Vesicles Using Flow Cytometry
Published on: March 17, 2015
Comparison of Generic Fluorescent Markers for Detection of Extracellular Vesicles by Flow Cytometry
Leonie de Rond1,2,3, Edwin van der Pol4,2,3, Chi M Hau2,3
1Biomedical Engineering and Physics, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; l.derond@amc.uva.nl.
Background:
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) in biofluids are potential biomarkers of disease. To explore the clinical relevance of EVs, a specific generic EV marker would be useful, one that does not require antibodies and binds to all EVs. Here we evaluated 5 commonly used generic markers for flow cytometry.
Methods:
Flow cytometry (A60-Micro, Apogee) was used to evaluate the ability of the generic EV markers calcein acetoxymethyl ester, calcein acetoxymethyl ester violet, carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester (CFSE), 4-(2-[6-(dioctylamino)-2-naphthalenyl]ethenyl)-1-(3-sulfopropyl)pyridinium (di-8-ANEPPS), and lactadherin to stain EVs from MCF7 human breast adenocarcinoma cell line-conditioned culture medium [epithelial cell adhesion molecule positive (EpCAM+)] or platelet EVs from human plasma [integrin β3 positive (CD61+)]. Side scatter triggering was applied as a reference, and the influence of non-EV components (proteins and lipoproteins) was evaluated.
Results:
Di-8-ANEPPS, lactadherin, and side scatter detected 100% of EpCAM+ MCF7 EVs. Lactadherin and side scatter detected 33% and 61% of CD61+ EVs, respectively. Di-8-ANEPPS detected platelet EVs only if soluble protein was first removed. Because all generic markers stained proteins, at best 33% of platelet EVs in plasma were detected. The calcein markers and CFSE were either insensitive to EVs in both samples or associated with swarm detection.
Conclusions:
None of the generic markers detected all and only EVs in plasma. Side scatter triggering detected the highest concentration of plasma EVs on our A60-Micro, followed by lactadherin. The choice between scatter or lactadherin primarily depends on the analytical sensitivity of the flow cytometer used.
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