Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are tiny lipid bilayer vesicles released by cells, playing a crucial role in intercellular communication through ligand signalling and cargo transfer between cells. They transport proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids, thereby relaying critical information among cells. Exosomes, a type of EV, are particularly promising biomarkers, especially in cancer research, as they carry the biological signature of their parent cells in the form of various biomolecules. Additionally, exosomes can be easily collected through liquid biopsy, eliminating the need for invasive and risky procedures, and they can be obtained in high concentrations.
However, scientists face numerous challenges as they strive to understand the roles of EVs in the body. Handling and visualizing these nanoscale particles pose difficulties, their concentration in blood is extremely low (picomoles), and they exhibit high heterogeneity in terms of size and content. Nonetheless, as researchers delve deeper into the study of EVs, they are discovering that this heterogeneity contains crucial information that could aid in identifying specific markers of interest. Consequently, one of the main challenges encountered when working with EVs as biomarkers is obtaining consistent and reliable results due to their inherent diversity.
The objective of the IMPED project is to develop a comprehensive platform for studying extracellular vesicles (EVs) by integrating protein and nucleic acid detection methods. This platform aims to enable the processing and analysis of patient samples using a single device, which will encompass the extraction and purification of EVs from the sample, as well as the analysis of biomarkers present on the external membrane or encapsulated inside the vesicles.
