Characterizing Extracellular Vesicles from Biological Fluids

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are structures that are produced from cells and participate in intercellular communication by transporting biomolecules from one cell to another. EVs have been shown to travel short and far distances in the body and are tissue-specific. EVs are not only found in tissues, but they can also be found in practically all bodily fluids, such as tears, saliva, cerebral spinal fluid, blood, etc. Even though EVs can be collected non-invasively from tears and saliva, only small volumes can be collected at a time, which can cause issues in obtaining enough EVs to analyze proteins. The scanner discussed in this paper is a nanoparticle analyzer that provides a solution to this problem, allowing us to characterize and study the phenotype, size, and total particle count of EVs from as little as 1 µL of biological fluid. This protocol will expand the knowledge of EVs from small volumes of samples that are difficult to extract from patients. This could enhance patient comfort and potentially identify new therapeutic targets for a range of diseases and disorders.