Advancing REversible immunocapture toward SCALablE EV purification

Project acronym:   RESCALE-EV

Project type:   PRISM

Grant agreement No.:   HF-185

Project Web site:   https://www.rescale-ev.rs/

     

Project is funded by:   Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia (Belgrade, Serbia)

Instituions where the research is conducted:

• University of Belgrade - Faculty of Chemistry (Belgrade, Serbia) – Coordination
• Innovation center of the Faculty of Chemisty in Belgrade (Belgrade, Serbia) – Beneficiary
• University of Belgrade - Faculty of Biology (Belgrade, Serbia) – Beneficiary
• Medicinski fakultet (Belgrade, Serbia) – Beneficiary

Project realization is scheduled from December 1, 2023 till November 30, 2026.

Project staff

Short description of the project

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been identified as an important signaling mediator in a myriad of physiological and pathological processes. Due to their presence in biological fluids, EVs are emerging as a novel source for the diagnosis of diseases, prognosis and treatment monitoring, and for predicting future risk of disease development. Nevertheless, a significant leap toward the establishment of novel tools has to be made in order to utilize the full diagnostic potential of EVs.
RESCALE-EV main goal is to provide a unique solution for advancing the current diagnostic potential of EVs by developing and implementing versatile, scalable, and cost-effective purification systems. The project mission is to combine single-domain antibody-based affinity technology for high-performance scalable EV capture. We will select Nb from large pre-immune libraries using phage display technology and then combine them with methacrylate-based carrier in order to create a prototype device, which will be tested on different biological samples. The modality of scaling-up of novel protocols and kits, as well as adapting the system for high-throughput EV isolation will be assessed in medium to large sample volumes. Finally, the system will be validated in clinical laboratory settings on Prostate cancer (PCa) as a model pathology by analyzing different expression levels of selected sets of miRNAs and lncRNAs in EV in order to develop a panel of clinically relevant genetic and epigenetic biomarkers which would enable a convenient and non-invasive risk prognosis and subsequent therapy selection in PCa. Our approach will bring forth the needed paradigm shift in EV research by solving the major bottleneck issue in the field. Creating a simple, robust, cheap, and scalable EV purification system will provide much-needed technology for application of EVs in personalized medicine, leading the transition of EVs use from a promising laboratory concept to a feasiblŐ and applicable diagnostic agent.

Principle of RESCALE-EV project

Impact of RESCALE-EV