Analytical Sciences

Damage-less Handling of Exosomes Using an Ion-depletion Zone in a Microchannel

Katsuo MOGI,*,** Kei HAYASHIDA,*** and Takatoki YAMAMOTO***

*Functional Proteomics Team, Molecular Profiling Research Center for Drug Discovery, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 2-4-7 Aomi, Koto, Tokyo 135-0064, Japan
**Department of Biological Science, Graduate School of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan
***Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan

Exosomes are of increasing research interest because they are integral to cell–cell communication and are implicated in various disease states. Here, we investigated the utility of using an ion-depletion zone in a microfluidic device to concentrate exosomes from the culture media of four types of cell lines. Furthermore, we evaluated the extent of damage to the exosomes following concentration by an ion-depletion zone microchannel device compared with exosomes concentrated by a conventional ultra-centrifugation technique. Our results conclusively demonstrate that significantly less damage is incurred by exosomes following passage through and concentration by the ion-depleted zone microchannel device compared to concentration by ultra-centrifugation. Our findings will help extend the utility of exosomes to various applications.

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