Isolation and Identification of Plasma Extracellular Vesicles Protein Biomarkers.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have emerged as a valuable source for disease biomarkers and an alternative drug delivery system due to their ability to carry cargo and target specific cells. Proper isolation, identification, and analytical strategy are required for evaluating their potential in diagnostics and therapeutics. Here, a method is detailed to isolate plasma EVs and analyze their proteomic profiling, combining EVtrap-based high-recovery EV isolation, phase-transfer surfactant method for protein extraction, and mass spectrometry qualitative and quantitative strategies for EV proteome characterization. The pipeline provides a highly effective EV-based proteome analysis technique that can be applied for EV characterization and evaluation of EV-based diagnosis and therapy.