Nexus attended Copenhagen Symposium on Separation Sciences 2023 on the 25th and the 26th of May 2023. The event was a great opportunity to meet stakeholders both from the academic field and the industry, while gaining insights on how the field of separation sciences is developing. During the first day of the Symposium, Marcella Chiari from CNR – project coordinator in the framework of Nexus project – was invited to talk about Nexus and how we are working on developing a prototype instrument that integrates affinity separation of EVs from plasma and multiparameter analysis of cancer proteins displayed on their surface.
Details on the lecture:
Automated In-Line Separation and Detection of Extracellular Vesicles for Liquid Biopsy Applications
Marcella Chiari, Institute of Chemical Sciences and Technologies “Giulio Nafa”, National Research Council of Italy
Abstract: Liquid Biopsy is considered a breakthrough innovation in cancer diagnostics, poised to have a relevant impact on timely and efficient disease prevention and treatment. In the context of Liquid Biopsy, Extracellular Vesicles (EV) are attracting an increasing interest due to their potential to outperform other circulating biomarkers, such as circulating tumor cells (CTC), circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), and traditional circulating protein biomarkers. EVs enclose a heterogeneous group of cell-released membranous vesicles abundantly present in body fluids. Their surface markers and cargo (proteins, nucleic acids, glycans, lipids) represent an ideal source of diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers, providing real-time information on tissue homeostasis alterations. However, their detection and molecular profiling are technically challenging due to their physical characteristics and tremendous heterogeneity. We present an easily customizable integrated platform enabling EV separation and multivariate characterization from complex biofluids. In the EIC Transition project Nexus frame, we are developing a prototype instrument integrating affinity separation of EVs from plasma and multiparameter analysis of cancer proteins displayed on their surface. An interferometric detector provides simultaneous information on the number and size of the vesicles captured on the surface of a silicon chip, allowing assessing EV phenotype without the interference of soluble proteins and confounding particles (other sEVs and lipoproteins). NEXUS integrates innovative chemistry for reversible sEVs immunocapture with novel DNA barcoded customizable interferometric chips.
