Versatile Molecular Monitoring of Platelet Extracellular Vesicle Purification Using Timegated® Raman Spectroscopy

An article titled Inline Raman Spectroscopy Provides Versatile Molecular Monitoring for Platelet Extracellular Vesicle Purification with Anion-Exchange Chromatography has been published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nanoscale particles secreted by cells, gaining significant attention in biotechnology due to their diverse molecular cargo and wide range of applications, such as diagnostics and therapeutic delivery. EVs play a key role in cellular communication and are involved in critical biological processes like immune regulation and cancer metastasis.

Due to the heterogeneous structure, complex composition, and physicochemical properties of EVs (such as size, density, and surface charge), analyzing EV samples requires multiple approaches which are typically performed post-isolation and are time-consuming and labor-intensive. This makes inline monitoring, such as Timegated® Raman Technology crucial for reducing time and cost while providing real-time insights into the purification process. In this study, Timegate's PicoRaman M3 spectrometer and add-on probe ProbePro Mini were connected to the chromatography system.

Unlike UV spectroscopy which was also utilized to monitor the purification process, Raman spectroscopy is particularly useful since it can be used to assess several distinct types of biomolecules at once, and it is relatively insensitive to water background, unlike its “sibling method” infrared spectroscopy. The researchers suggest inline Raman as a novel method to identify and assess EV-containing fractions in liquid flow-based methods.

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