Abstract

Exosome Sorting System by Utilizing Ion Control Techniques

Katsuo Mogi, Assistant professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology (Titech)

Exosome, one of circulated bio-substances, has an important role as a communication tool between cells in our body. Not only membrane proteins but also DNA and RNA in the exosome have gotten a lot of attention as a pathological biomarker for early diagnosis. To use them as a biomarker, preparation of high quality sample of exosome is required. However, complicated process of conventional preparations, e.g. ultracentrifugal fraction, hyperbaric filtering and antibody labeling, causes physical damage to the exosome. To resolve the challenge, we developed a novel system based on microfluidic device in which functions of an ion concentration polarization and an electrophoresis are incorporated to concentrate delicately bio-substances including exosome. In this system, an ion depletion zone formed by the ion concentration polarization was used for the concentrating of submicron substances. Additionally, the concentrated substances were sorted by the electrophoresis at once. For verification of the system, we demonstrated concentrating and sorting of exosomes with quick process.