Meso–macroporous hydrogel for direct litre-scale isolation of extracellular vesicles
Extracellular vesicles are cell-originated lipid bilayer membrane vesicles that play vital roles in cell-to-cell communications. While extracellular vesicles hold substantial biomedical potential, conventional methodologies for isolating extracellular vesicles require elaborate preprocessing and, therefore, remain labour intensive and limited by throughput. To overcome these challenges, we present a facile fabrication route for generating a meso-macroporous hydrogel matrix with pores of ~400 nm for customizable extracellular vesicle isolation. By combining surface charge-selective capture of extracellular vesicles within the hydrogel matrix and their recovery by high ionic strength, we report direct extracellular vesicle isolation with a throughput range from microlitre to litre scales, without preprocessing, for various biofluids, including whole blood, plasma, ascites, saliva, urine, bovine milk and cell culture media. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the meso-macroporous hydrogel also serves as a solid-phase matrix for preserving extracellular vesicles for on-demand downstream analyses, making it applicable for therapeutics, cosmeceuticals and disease diagnostics.
Authors
- Ji Yoon Kang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4595-0512)
- Sujin Hyung (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1192-0972)
- Mina Kim
- Jeeyun Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4911-6165)
- Yunhee Seo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5721-2974)
- Ji Sung Shim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6745-1776)
- Jouha Min (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6737-7254)
- Min‐Jeong Jang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0401-2258)
- Seok Chung (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1735-8338)
- Cheolju Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8482-4696)
- Sung Gu Kang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5791-5410)
- Hong Nam Kim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0329-0029)
- Hyejeong Seong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9877-296X)
- Il‐Joo Cho (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9016-6749)
- Ki Cheol Gil
- Changheon Kim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5451-0853)
- Han Kyul Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-5371-0447)
- Sun Hwa Kim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2076-111X)
- Tae Soup Shim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2414-1599)
- Kwang Hoon Song (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8143-7148)
- Ki Wan Bong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5026-0757)
- Junbeom Kim
- Seongchan Kim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2104-6599)
- Nakwon Choi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2993-9233)
- Geonhee Han
- Min Soo Kim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1892-8061)
- Hyojin Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6367-9485)
- Young Chan Lee
- Kyung‐Eun Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8656-2263)
- SeungWon Jeong
- Sojin Song
- Minjin Kang
Institutions
- Incheon National University (KR)
- Gyeongsang National University (KR)
- Korea University (KR)
- University of Michigan (US)
- Korea University Medical Center (KR)
- Samsung Medical Center (KR)
- Kyung Hee University (KR)
- Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences (KR)
- Korea Institute of Brain Science (KR)
- Integrative Medicine Institute (US)
- Korean Association Of Science and Technology Studies (KR)
- Advanced Analysis Center (JP)
- Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong (KR)
- Korea University (JP)
- Ajou University (KR)
- Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KR)
- Sungkyunkwan University (KR)
- Korea University of Science and Technology (KR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Nanotechnology
- Published
- 2025-09-24
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-025-02011-1
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Extracellular vesicles in disease
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.42
Funders
- National Research Foundation
- Ministry of Food and Drug Safety
- Korea Institute of Science and Technology
- National Research Foundation of Korea
- Ministry of Science and ICT, South Korea
- KU-KIST Graduate School of Converging Science and Technology