Novel microchip electrophoresis-contactless conductivity method for detection and characterization of extracellular...

Background: Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are important carriers of intercellular communication, used in disease diagnosis and as prognostic circulating biomarkers, and their identification and quantitative analysis are important prerequisites for their clinical application. Methods & results: A method using microchip electrophoresis with contactless conductivity detection was developed for the concentration assay of EVs. This method showed good sensitivity, reproducibility and accuracy, with good linear correlation with conventional methods (nanoparticle tracking analysis and bicinchoninic acid assay). The application to the detection of mesenchymal stem cell-derived EVs proved its applicability to clinical samples. Conclusion: This is the first study to apply this method for the detection of EVs, achieving quantitative analysis of EVs enriched in exosomes and microvesicles, and initially demonstrating the potential to separate different EV subpopulations.