Novel Hydrogel System Drives Scalable Isolation of Extracellular Vesicles

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) act as nanoscale couriers, trafficking molecular signals across cells, tissues, and organs to regulate functions as diverse as immune communication and tumor growth. Their diagnostic and therapeutic potential has drawn global research attention, but isolating EVs efficiently and at scale remains challenging. Conventional techniques such as ultracentrifugation and size-exclusion chromatography are limited by labor intensity, dependence on complex instrumentation, and poor suitability for processing large fluid volumes.

Now, a team led by Professor Nakwon Choi at Korea University has introduced a solution to this bottleneck in a study published in Nature Nanotechnology. The group developed a practical, scalable EV‑isolation platform that functions without preprocessing or specialized equipment, built on meso–macroporous hydrogels designed to permit EV entry while maintaining robust structural integrity.

According to Professor Choi, “We engineered meso–macroporous PEGDA hydrogel particles with pores approximately 400 nm in diameter using a technique called cryo-photocrosslinking. In this process, frozen hydrogel precursor solutions possess ice crystals that act as porogens, creating EV-permeable pores upon crosslinking of polymer chains.” These pores enable EV capture through charge-selective interactions under high-salt conditions and controlled release when the salt is removed. The approach works directly with blood, plasma, urine, saliva, ascites, milk, and culture media, eliminating the need for serial filtration or ultracentrifugation.

The platform proved both rapid and efficient. When tested with milk, hydrogel-based capture yielded up to 1,539 times more EVs than ultracentrifugation while cutting processing time nearly six-fold. The recovered vesicles retained their structure and biological function, stimulating proliferation in fibroblasts and keratinocytes and mitigating oxidative stress. Diagnostic use was demonstrated through urinary EV microRNA profiling for prostate cancer detection. Moreover, EVs stored in freeze-dried hydrogels remained stable for 60 days at ambient temperature, avoiding the need for cold storage. The reusable and cost-effective hydrogel particles make the technology adaptable to laboratory and industrial needs.

Offering high purity, scalability, and compatibility with varied sample types, the system facilitates EV enrichment tailored to specific research goals. Milk-derived EVs illustrate potential therapeutic applications in wound repair and tissue regeneration, while rapid isolation from bodily fluids supports non-invasive diagnostic workflows. 

As Professor Choi noted, “Our meso–macroporous hydrogel holds promise for translating EV research from the lab to clinical and industrial settings. It is cost-effective, reusable, and independent of specialized equipment, allowing users to recover and preserve EVs on demand, even across long distances without a cold chain. We envision this technology as a versatile platform to advance EV studies, from fundamental research to applications in diagnostics, prognosis, and therapeutics.”