A new, fast and selective immunoaffinity chromatographic method including a methacrylate-based convective interaction media (CIM®) disk monolithic column, immobilized with anti-human CD61 antibody, was developed for the isolation of CD61-containing platelet-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) from plasma. The isolated EVs were detected and size characterized by asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation (AsFlFFF) with multi-angle light-scattering (MALS) and dynamic light-scattering (DLS) detection, and further confirmed by nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The mean size of platelet-derived EV isolates from the anti-CD61 CIM® disk monolithic column were 174 nm (SD 60 nm) based on the NTA results. These results indicated a successful isolation of platelet-derived EVs, which was confirmed by Western blotting the isolates against the EV-specific markers CD9 and TSG101 together with transmission electron microscopy. Additional elucidation of MALS and DLS data provided detailed information of the size distribution of the isolated fractions, confirming the successful isolation of also small platelet-derived EVs ranging from 30 to 130 nm based on the hydrodynamic radii. The isolation procedure took only 19 min and the time can be even further decreased by increasing the flow rate. The same immunoaffinity chromatographic procedure, following AsFlFFF allowed also the isolation and characterization of platelet-derived EVs from plasma in under 60 min. Since it is possible to regenerate the anti-CD61 disk for multiple uses, the methodology developed in this study provides a viable substitution and addition to the conventional EV isolation procedures.
Keywords: CD61; Extracellular vesicles; Immunoaffinity chromatography; Isolation; Monolithic disk column; Platelet-derived vesicles.
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