Aqueous two-phase systems (ATPSs) have been widely used in the separation, purification, and enrichment of biomolecules for their excellent biocompatibility. While ultracentrifugation and microfluidic devices have been combined with ATPS to facilitate the separation of biomolecules and achieve high recovery yields, they often lack the ability to effectively isolate and separate biomolecules in low concentrations. In this work, we present a strategy that leverages the preferential partitioning of biomolecules in ATPS droplets to efficiently separate model extracellular vesicle (EV) particles. We demonstrate that the additional oil phase between the inner ATPS droplets and the aqueous continuous phase in triple emulsion droplets resolves the size controllability and instability issues of ATPS droplets, enabling the production of highly monodisperse ATPS-based polymersomes with enhanced stability for effective isolation of ATPS droplets from the surrounding environment. Furthermore, we achieve separation of model EV particles in a single dextran (DEX)-rich droplet by the massive production of ATPS-based polymersomes and osmotic-pressure-induced rupture of the selected polymersome in a hypertonic solution composed of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG).
Keywords: aqueous two-phase system (ATPS); isolation; microfluidics; polymersome; separation.