Device and method for isolating extracellular vesicles from biofluids
AssigneeUniversity of Rochester
InventorsJames Lionel McGrath, Kilean Scott Lucas, Henry Hung Li Chung
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Abstract
A device and method for isolating extracellular vesicles from biofluids is disclosed. A nanoporous silicon nitride membrane is provided with a tangential flow of biofluid. A pressure gradient through the nanoporous silicon nitride membrane facilitates capture of extracellular vesicles from the tangential flow vector of biofluid. Reversal of the pressure gradient results in the release of the extracellular vesicles for subsequent collection.
Claims35
A device for isolating extracellular vesicles from biofluids, the device comprising:
- a nanoporous membrane comprising a first surface with a plurality of pores;
- wherein the pores have a generally circular shape and a range of pore diameters between 20 nanometers and 120 nanometers and are configured to size selectively capture and retain the extracellular vesicles;
- a tangential fluid flow device for creating a tangential fluid flow velocity of a biofluid across the surface of the nanoporous membrane having a plurality of pores;
- a pressure gradient device in fluid communication with the biofluid wherein the pressure gradient device creates a pressure gradient through the nanoporous membrane;
- wherein the pressure gradient device is selected from the group consisting of a pump, a diaphragm, a vacuum device, a thermoelectric device, and a peltier device;
- and wherein the device for isolating extracellular vesicles from biofluids promotes blocking of the pores with extracellular vesicles to create an intentionally fouled nanoporous membrane.
A device for isolating cell free DNA from biofluids, the device comprising:
- a nanoporous membrane comprising a surface with a plurality of pores;
- wherein the pores have a generally circular shape and a range of pore diameters between 20 nanometers and 120 nanometers and are configured to size selectively capture and retain the cell free DNA;
- a tangential fluid flow device for creating a tangential fluid flow velocity of a biofluid across the surface of the nanoporous membrane having a plurality of pores;
- a pressure gradient device in fluid communication with the biofluid wherein the pressure gradient device creates a pressure gradient through the nanoporous membrane;
- wherein the pressure gradient device is selected from the group consisting of a pump, a diaphragm, a vacuum device, a thermoelectric device, and a peltier device;
- and wherein the device for isolating cell free DNA from biofluids promotes blocking of the pores with cell free DNA to create an intentionally fouled nanoporous membrane.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.