Isolation of exosomes from cell culture media using a microfluidic design

Exosomes are nanoscale extracellular vesicles (30 – 150 nm) that are secreted from all types of cells and contain DNA and RNA fragments, proteins, and other molecular contents available within the cell. In addition to a mean of cellular communication, exosomes are now considered important biomarkers for disease diagnosis, as well as promising carriers for drug delivery. Due to their small size, exosome isolation is a costly, and often challenging goal. In this study, we engineered a simple viscoelastic-based microfluidic system for isolation of exosomes from cell culture media in a continuous, size-dependent, and label-free manner. A 3D printer was employed to fabricate the required cast for the design. Conclusion: Here, preliminary assessments of the proposed cost-effective approach suggest that the PDMS-based microfluidic chip could help isolate exosomes from the media via viscoelastic forces