Acoustofluidic thin-film actuated chip for exosome separation from blood

Project Information

AcouSome

Grant agreement ID: 101099787

DOI

10.3030/101099787

Project closed

EC signature date 11 November 2022

Start date 1 January 2023

End date 31 December 2025

Funded under

• The European Innovation Council (EIC)

Total cost

€ 2 498 421,25

EU contribution

€ 2 498 419,00

Coordinated by

ACOUSORT AB
Sweden

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - AcouSome (Acoustofluidic thin-film actuated chip for exosome separation from blood)

Reporting period: 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Exosomes are tiny vesicles budded of from all cells of the body and can be found in body fluids such as blood. They carry information from the cells they are budded of from and have been found to be useful for diagnostics of a wide range of diseases, including cancer infectious and cardiac diseases. Their clinical usefulness is therefore researched intensely. One big hurdle for this research and the diagnostics that is expected to come out of it is that it is challenging to find these virus-sized vesicles in body fluids such as blood. We therefore want to develop a module that can pick out and enrich them directly from blood, for use both in the research lab and in the resulting diagnostic instruments.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During the first year of the project we have investigated how well our technologies using ultrasound to move cells and vesicles in microscopic channels can be used to pick out exosomes from blood. The results are promising and we are now focusing on making them even better and possible to produce on a larger scale to reach all the research and diagnostic labs that would need them. We are for instance investigating new materials to make our devices.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

We have for instance made our exosome capturing device capable of capturing many more exosomes by scaling it up, and already released it as an upgrade to our current exosome capturing instrument. We have also found a new method that is likely to increase the capacity even further, and are looking into if we can patent it. We also have promising results using new materials for the devices to make them easier to produce, less expensive and more environmentally friendly.

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