Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are lipid-bound nanometer-sized vesicles released by all cell types that contain molecular payload such as proteins and/or nucleic acids. EVs are a key facet of cell-to-cell communication and have the potential to be used in the diagnosis of numerous diseases, chief among them being cancer. However, most methods of EV analysis struggle to identify the rare, malformed proteins indicative of tumor cells as tumor EVs represent only a tiny fraction of the bulk EVs present in the bloodstream. Here, we present a method of single EV analysis, utilizing droplet microfluidics to encapsulate EVs, which are labeled with DNA barcodes linked to antibodies, in droplets with the DNA extension used to amplify the signals associated with each EV. The amplified DNA can then be sequenced to assess the protein content of individual EVs, enabling the detection of rare proteins and EV subpopulations within a bulk EV sample.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-3323-6_16 | DOI Listing |
Anal Chem
January 2025
Nanophotonic Systems Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland.
Droplet-based microfluidics is a powerful tool for high-throughput analysis of liquid samples with significant applications in biomedicine and biochemistry. Nevertheless, extracting content-rich information from single picolitre-sized droplets at high throughputs remains challenging due to the weak signals associated with these small volumes. Overcoming this limitation would be transformative for fields that rely on high-throughput screening, enabling broader multiparametric analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLangmuir
January 2025
School of Chemistry, Key Centre for Polymers and Colloids, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.
Polymer Janus nanoparticles with one hard cross-linked polystyrene lobe and one soft film-forming poly(methyl methacrylate--butyl acrylate) lobe were synthesized by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT)-mediated emulsion polymerization. The Janus nanoparticles adsorbed to oil/water and air/water interfaces, where the soft lobes coalesced, forming films of thickness between 25 and 250 nm; droplets of silicone oil could be stably encapsulated in polymer in this way. When prepared by mechanical mixing without additives, capsules of diameter 5-500 μm could be prepared, and with additives and application of heat, capsules of diameter around 5 μm were achieved, even with highly viscous silicone oil (20,000 cSt).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn Vitro Model
December 2024
Laboratório de Biologia Básica de Células-Tronco, FIOCRUZ, Rua Professor Algacyr Munhoz Mader, 3775, Instituto Carlos Chagas, Curitiba, Paraná PR 81350-010 Brazil.
Obesity is associated with several comorbidities that cause high mortality rates worldwide. Thus, the study of adipose tissue (AT) has become a target of high interest because of its crucial contribution to many metabolic diseases and metabolizing potential. However, many AT-related physiological, pathophysiological, and toxicological mechanisms in humans are still poorly understood, mainly due to the use of non-human animal models.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnal Chem
January 2025
Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, U.K.
Total free thiols are an important marker of the whole-body redox state, which has been shown to be associated with clinical outcome in health and disease. Recent investigations have suggested that increased insight may be gained by monitoring alterations of redox state in response to exercise and hypoxia and to monitor redox trajectories in disease settings. However, conducting such studies is challenging due to the requirement for repeated venous blood sampling and intensive lab work.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPNAS Nexus
January 2025
Institute of Bioengineering, School of Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
Here, we present Link-Seq, a highly efficient droplet microfluidic method for combined sequencing of antibody-encoding genes and the transcriptome of individual B cells at large scale. The method is based on 3' barcoding of the transcriptome and subsequent single-molecule PCR in droplets, which freely shift the barcode along specific gene regions, such as the antibody heavy- and light-chain genes. Using the immune repertoire of COVID-19 patients and healthy donors as a model system, we obtain up to 91.
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