Specific Aims

Exosomes are natural biocompatible nanovesicles whose in vivo function is poorly understood given the difficulty of isolating large quantities of uniformly disperse exosome subpopulations for experimentation. In spite of this hurdle, new efforts have begun to focus on the high potential utility of exosomes as therapeutic nanocarriers. In contrast to artificial nanovesicles, cell derived exosomes express a plethora of complex targeting ligands including integrins, receptors or even tetraspanins in native conformations and contain a cytoskeleton allowing for deformability [1]. Consequently, exosomes are showing promise as cancer vaccines and have even been modified to deliver siRNA across the blood brain barrier [1]. For these reasons, investigating means to study exosome function in vivo for the purposes of understanding their role in disease pathogenesis or adapt exosomes for use as therapeutic delivery vehicles is warranted. We are proposing to develop an instrument for separation and purification of exosomes without any labels such that these nanovesicles can be collected, modified and used as drug carriers without affecting their inherent biocompatibility and functionality.