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Principal Investigator: Sean German
Organization: ELECTRONIC BIOSCIENCES, INC.
Fiscal Year: 2023
Award: $349,996
Funding agency: National Institute of General Medical Sciences
Project Summary
Today, researchers and clinicians, in academia and industry, lack the tools and technologies needed to
accurately characterize, differentiate, and sort extracellular vesicles (EVs); currently available technologies were
simply not developed to characterize entities smaller than 200 nanometers in size. While the importance of EVs
in directing cargo delivery for intercellular communication is well known, the inability to profile the true distribution
of their biophysical properties is the main hindrance to understanding the mechanisms of action, identifying
disease-specific biomarkers, and harnessing the therapeutic potential of EV-based nanomedicine. During this
Phase I STTR program, Electronic BioSciences (EBS), a company with a successful track record of
commercializing nanopore-based analytical technology and the associated high-performance, low-noise
electronics, will collaborate with Distinguished Professor Henry S. White at the University of Utah, who is a
foremost expert in nanopores, mass transport and electroanalytical characterization, to develop and demonstrate
an entirely new technology capable of state-of-the-art, comprehensive EV characterization and sample profiling
at the single-vesicle level. Furthermore, the ability to quickly assess individual EVs will enable the ability to sort
and isolate specific EV subpopulations for further downstream characterization and/or utilization. During this
project, a prototype system will be built and the feasibility of comprehensively characterizing and sorting/isolating
specific EV populations will be demonstrated and validated. The resulting system will have the ease-of-use,
throughput, and price point of a high-throughput, “low-resolution” flow-cytometer, but the resolution of state-of-
the-art microscopy techniques, such as scanning or transmission electron microscopy (SEM or TEM,
respectively) or atomic force microscopy (AFM). The advantage of the proposed technology will be the
development of a system enabling the ability to identify and sort/isolate precisely defined populations of
biological- and medical-significance nanoscale (<200 nm) entities using high-dimensional (multiparameter) data,
which will have applications far beyond EVs, including but not limited to characterizing other nanostructures
important in drug delivery and gene therapy nanomedicines such as lipid nanoparticles for vaccines, exosome-
based therapeutics, lentivirus, virus-like particles, and polymer-based nanocapsules. Thus, the successful
completion of this program will result in a broadly applicable tool able to bring precision to bear on these smallest
of couriers and enable the characterization/classification urgently needed to advance the fields of EVs and
nanomedicine.
Terms: <70-kD Heat-Shock Protein><Academia><Antibodies><Atomic Force Microscopy><Back><Basic Cancer Research><Biologic Sciences><Biological><Biological Markers><Biological Sciences><Bioscience><Breast Cancer cell line><Breast tumor cell line><Cancers><Cell Communication and Signaling><Cell Line><Cell Signaling><Cell to Cell Communication and Signaling><Cell-Cell Signaling><CellLine><Cellular Assay><Charge><Classification><Cognitive Discrimination><Collaborations><Collection><Concentration measurement><Consumption><DNA Therapy><Data><Development><Diagnostic><Discrimination><Disease><Disorder><Dorsum><Drug Delivery><Drug Delivery Systems><Electron Microscopy><Electronics><Field Flow Fractionation><Fluorescence><Force Microscopy><Future><Gene Transfer Clinical><Genetic Intervention><Goals><HSP 70><HSP70><Heat-Shock Proteins 70><Hour><Individual><Industry><Intracellular Communication and Signaling><Investigators><Label><Laser Electromagnetic><Laser Radiation><Lasers><Lentivirinae><Lentivirus><Life Sciences><MCF-7><MCF-7 Cell><MCF-7DR><MCF-7WT><MCF7><MCF7 cell><MDA MB 231><MDA-231><MDA-MB231><Malignant Cell><Malignant Neoplasms><Malignant Tumor><Measurement><Measures><Medical><Membrane Protein Gene><Membrane Proteins><Membrane-Associated Proteins><Metastasis><Metastasize><Metastatic Lesion><Metastatic Mass><Metastatic Neoplasm><Metastatic Tumor><Methods><Micro RNA><MicroRNAs><Microscopy><Molecular><Monitor><Msec><NIH><Nanostructures><National Institutes of Health><Neoplasm Metastasis><Noise><Nucleic Acids><Oncogenic><Oncology><Oncology Cancer><Pathway interactions><Pattern><Performance><Persons><Phase><Photobleaching><Physiologic pulse><Polymers><Population><Price><Property><Proteins><Pulse><Research><Research Personnel><Researchers><Resolution><STTR><Sampling><Scanning><Scanning Force Microscopy><Secondary Neoplasm><Secondary Tumor><Signal Transduction><Signal Transduction Systems><Signaling><Small Business Technology Transfer Research><Sorting><Strains Cell Lines><Streptolysins><Surface><Surface Proteins><System><Systematics><Techniques><Technology><Therapeutic><Time><Transmission Electron Microscopy><Tumor-Derived><United States National Institutes of Health><Universities><Utah><Vaccines><Vesicle><Virus-like particle><bio-markers><biologic><biologic marker><biological signal transduction><biomarker><biophysical characteristics><biophysical characterization><biophysical measurement><biophysical parameters><biophysical properties><cancer cell><cancer metastasis><cancer progression><cell assay><commercialization><cost><cryogenics><cultured cell line><detection platform><detection system><developmental><distinguished professor><electronic><electronic device><exosome><extracellular vesicles><fluorescence imaging><fluorescent imaging><fluorophore><gene repair therapy><gene therapy><gene-based therapy><genetic therapy><genomic therapy><high dimensionality><hsp70 Family><imaging detection><imaging-based detection><imaging-based disease detection><instrument><intercellular communication><light scattering><lipid based nanoparticle><lipid nanoparticle><liquid biopsy><malignancy><miRNA><miRNAs><millisecond><multiplex detection><nano medicinal><nano medicine><nano meter><nano meter scale><nano meter sized><nano particle><nano pore><nano scale><nano-sized particle><nano-sized structures><nano-structures><nanocapsule><nanomedicinal><nanomedicine><nanometer><nanometer scale><nanometer sized><nanoparticle><nanopore><nanoscale><nanosized particle><neoplasm progression><neoplasm/cancer><neoplastic progression><new technology><novel><novel technologies><particle><pathway><polymer><polymeric><prevent><preventing><pricing><professor><programs><prototype><resolutions><response><sensor><solid state><specific biomarkers><statistics><therapeutic target><tool><tumor cell metastasis><tumor progression><vesicle release><vesicular release><virus-like nanoparticles><viruslike particle>