Integrated Magneto–Electrochemical Sensor for Exosome Analysis

TLDR

Exosomes are nanoscale membrane vesicles that carry molecular information and are being explored as biomarkers for cancers that are difficult to detect or monitor. The study introduces a compact, rapid, on‑site sensor for exosome screening. The sensor integrates magneto‑electrochemical detection by immunomagnetically capturing exosomes, amplifying signals enzymatically, and measuring electrochemical reactions, and was demonstrated on a portable eight‑channel device for plasma samples from ovarian cancer patients. It enabled simultaneous profiling of multiple protein markers within an hour, surpassing conventional methods in sensitivity and speed.

Abstract

Extracellular vesicles, including exosomes, are nanoscale membrane particles that carry molecular information on parental cells. They are being pursued as biomarkers of cancers that are difficult to detect or serially follow. Here we present a compact sensor technology for rapid, on-site exosome screening. The sensor is based on an integrated magneto–electrochemical assay: exosomes are immunomagnetically captured from patient samples and profiled through electrochemical reaction. By combining magnetic enrichment and enzymatic amplification, the approach enables (i) highly sensitive, cell-specific exosome detection and (ii) sensor miniaturization and scale-up for high-throughput measurements. As a proof-of-concept, we implemented a portable, eight-channel device and applied it to screen extracellular vesicles in plasma samples from ovarian cancer patients. The sensor allowed for the simultaneous profiling of multiple protein markers within an hour, outperforming conventional methods in assay sensitivity and speed.