Exosomes or extracellular vesicles have emerged as a novel biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis of human diseases. Circulating exosomes, in particular, could provide a convenient and minimally-invasive venue to serially monitor disease progression and treatment responses. My laboratory is developing new miniaturized platforms to facilitate exosome analysis in clinics. We specifically advanced two core technologies, i) in-flow filtration devices to enrich exosomes from biological fluids, and ii) a nano-plasmonic chip to profile exosomal protein. The filter system is a microfluidic cartridge to enable fast and on-chip exosome isolation. This device uses size-based sonophoresis to selectively enrich exosomes. The plasmonic chip, termed nano-plasmonic exosome (nPLEX), employs the principle of extraordinary optical transmission to provide high-throughput exosome protein profiling. The strategy is ideal for exosome detection, as the probing depth (< 200 nm) of the sensor is matched to exosome size. We applied the developed platforms to detect and profile cancer-derived exosomes in patient samples. Our data showed promising potential of using exosome diagnostics to monitor the tumor progression and treatment responses. Further clinical investigations are underway to rigorously evaluate the clinical utility of the developed assay.


Wednesday, May 11, 2016, 12:00. Seminar Room

Hosted by Prof. Romain Quidant