Quantitative Single-particle Profiling of Extracellular Vesicles via Fluorescent Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Liu, Yiting, El-helou, Anthony James, Soderstrom, Bill, Ruan, Juanfang, Zhu, Ying
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Liu, Yiting
El-helou, Anthony James
Soderstrom, Bill
Ruan, Juanfang
Zhu, Ying
author_facet Liu, Yiting
El-helou, Anthony James
Soderstrom, Bill
Ruan, Juanfang
Zhu, Ying
contents Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have drawn rapidly increasing attention as the next-generation diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic agents. However, the heterogeneous nature of EVs necessitates advanced methods for profiling EVs at the single-particle level. While nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) is a widely used technique for quantifying particle size and concentration, conventional scattering-based systems are non-specific. In this study, we present an optimised protocol for quantitative profiling of EVs at the single-particle level by fluorescent NTA (F-NTA). The protocol integrates fluorescent immunolabeling of EVs with size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) to efficiently remove unbound labels, enabling the precise quantification of EV concentration, size distribution, and surface immunophenotype. We first validated this approach using biotinylated liposomes and EVs from cultured human cell lines, confirming effective removal of unbound labels and assessing labelling efficiency. We then demonstrated that F-NTA can distinguish EV subpopulations with distinct surface marker expression, exemplified by the differentiation of EpCAM-positive EVs derived from HT29 and HEK293 cells. Finally, we applied dual labelling to human plasma isolates to simultaneously profile EVs and non-vesicular extracellular particles, providing a quantitative quality assessment of EV purity at the single-particle level. The robustness of this method was further supported by comparative analysis with total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy. This validated workflow enables robust, quantitative profiling of EV subpopulations, providing a critical tool for diverse EV applications, including biomarker discovery, therapeutic monitoring, and quality control for engineered vesicles.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_04655
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Quantitative Single-particle Profiling of Extracellular Vesicles via Fluorescent Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis
Liu, Yiting
El-helou, Anthony James
Soderstrom, Bill
Ruan, Juanfang
Zhu, Ying
Biomolecules
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have drawn rapidly increasing attention as the next-generation diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic agents. However, the heterogeneous nature of EVs necessitates advanced methods for profiling EVs at the single-particle level. While nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) is a widely used technique for quantifying particle size and concentration, conventional scattering-based systems are non-specific. In this study, we present an optimised protocol for quantitative profiling of EVs at the single-particle level by fluorescent NTA (F-NTA). The protocol integrates fluorescent immunolabeling of EVs with size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) to efficiently remove unbound labels, enabling the precise quantification of EV concentration, size distribution, and surface immunophenotype. We first validated this approach using biotinylated liposomes and EVs from cultured human cell lines, confirming effective removal of unbound labels and assessing labelling efficiency. We then demonstrated that F-NTA can distinguish EV subpopulations with distinct surface marker expression, exemplified by the differentiation of EpCAM-positive EVs derived from HT29 and HEK293 cells. Finally, we applied dual labelling to human plasma isolates to simultaneously profile EVs and non-vesicular extracellular particles, providing a quantitative quality assessment of EV purity at the single-particle level. The robustness of this method was further supported by comparative analysis with total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy. This validated workflow enables robust, quantitative profiling of EV subpopulations, providing a critical tool for diverse EV applications, including biomarker discovery, therapeutic monitoring, and quality control for engineered vesicles.
title Quantitative Single-particle Profiling of Extracellular Vesicles via Fluorescent Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis
topic Biomolecules
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.04655