Invited Paper BI-TuM1
Exosomes and Extracellular Vesicles: Small Particles with a Big Impact

Tuesday, December 4, 2018, 8:00 am, Room Naupaka Salon 6-7

Extracellular vesicles (EVs), such as exosomes are membrane-bound vesicles released by most living cells and play a vital role in cell function and cell-cell communication. EVs have shown massive potential as biomarkers for a wide range of diseases and are found in most bodily fluids, including blood, saliva, breastmilk and urine. Detection and measuring cell specific EVs in complex solutions can lead to more sensitive detection of diseases, such as cancer. We have synthesised water soluble InP/ZnS (core/shell) quantum dots using optimised ligand exchange methods. Subsequently, the water-dispersible quantum dots were conjugated to EV-specific antibodies or aptamers. The quantum dot-antibody conjugates and their EV binding, were characterised using a suite of techniques to confirm the size, morphology and surface chemistry. The use of non-cadmium-based quantum dots implies that these conjugates would be more viable for use in a clinical setting. The same strategy has also been applied to bacteria cells (i.e. Acinetobacter baumannii) and bacteria derived EVs. Combined with custom designed platforms for surface plasmons resonance or spectroscopy detection, we aim to develop novel methods for EV detection.