Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute Evaluate Demeter EVPrep™ for Compatibility with Mass Spectrometry

Volcano plot showing proteins identified in Demeter EVPrep-isolated EVs from wild type (WT) and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) organoid cultures.

The success of EV research depends on scalable, automated, reproducible isolation methods that consistently produce high recovery of pure EVs. Conventional EV isolation methods miss the mark, forcing a tradeoff between purity and recovery and producing unreliable results. In a recent study, 78% of EV researchers polled indicated that poor EV isolation quality and lack of reproducibility in EV isolation are key obstacles to achieving their research outcomes*.

"If the [EV isolation] method is not consistent within and across experiments, it is difficult to distinguish true biological signals from technical variation. This undermines confidence in downstream analysis...and ultimately weakens the reliability of biological conclusions and translational potential." - EV Researcher*

EXOKĒRYX is leveraging the novel application of chip-based technology and microfluidics to unlock the potential of extracellular vesicles and deliver better tools for EV researchers. While conventional methods use a single physical property to isolate EVs, our Demeter EVPrep^TM isolates EVs based on both size and charge simultaneously, selectively isolating EVs to deliver greater recovery and purity than other techniques. And its fully-automated workflow enables reproducibility not possible with more manual, hands-on methods.

Dr. Anthony Balistreri studies Alzheimer's Disease in the Kelly Lab at The Scripps Research Institute. He has experienced the challenges with conventional EV isolation firsthand. In our latest white paper, he and fellow Scripps Research colleague Dr. Natalie Turner (Yates Lab) share the results of a limited technology evaluation study that looked at Demeter EVPrep's ability to:

1. 1. Produce pure EV eluates compatible with mass spectrometry proteomic analysis.

   2. Isolate EVs containing proteins associated with Alzheimer's Disease.

The mass spectrometry proteomic analysis revealed deep proteome coverage in the Demeter EVPrep EV isolates, demonstrating compatibility of Demeter EVPrep with mass spectrometry. Amyloid precursor proteins A4 and Tau were also detected. When A4 is cleaved, it results in amyloid-beta peptides, the pathogenic peptides associated with Alzheimer’s disease. There is a dearth of widely accessible biomarkers for Alzheimer's Disease that enable early, preclinical diagnosis. EV proteomic analysis holds great potential for identifying such a diagnostic tool. Demeter EVPrep, with its demonstrated compatibility with mass spectrometry analysis, isolation of EVs containing proteins associated with Alzheimer's Disease, and hands-off, automated workflow that makes it reproducible by design, may become a key player in helping to identify biomarkers for early Alzheimer's Disease diagnosis.

Read the white paper here: Extracellular Vesicle Isolation with Demeter EVPrep Demonstrates Compatibility with Mass Spectrometry Proteomic Analysis.

*Data on file at EXOKĒRYX.