November 2020

Hydrogels are defined as a 3-dimensional network capable of absorbing water without becoming solvated - a property they share with most soft tissues within the body. This similarity has led to rising levels of research focussed on using hydrogels in the field of tissue engineering and regeneration as analogues for ECM and assisting wound healing, as well as extensive use in contact lens production both for vision corrective as well as therapeutic treatments

In drug development, the term Trojan horse encompasses a variety of strategies to deliver drugs in a concealed, safe and efficient way to the target. The main objectives of this strategy are firstly to overcome barriers, such as the blood brain-barrier or simply the cell membrane, which shield the target (Troy) from a drug (the Greeks), secondly, to specifically attack the disease rather than the whole body and thirdly, to achieve a slow drug release over time with no sudden concentration peaks. This approach does not only sound awesome on a metaphoric level, but also makes use of some nifty biological tricks.

Exosomes are cell-secreted vesicles with a diameter between 30-150nm which contain producer cell-derived protein, lipid and nucleic acid cargoes. Exosomes complex structure, coated with various membrane-bound proteins, can permeate target cells, enabling direct cell-to-cell communication between neighbouring and distant cells. Now researchers are looking at the possibility of using exosomes derived from plants for therapeutic applications

Cell Guidance Systems Ltd, a specialist in exosome research reagents and services, today announced the launch of a new product for the purification of exosomes from blood and other samples. The Exo-spinâ„¢ 96 exosome purification kit allows researchers to purify exosome samples in the standard 96 well plate format.

The characterisation of exosomes via multiple, complimentary techniques is necessary as a basic step to understand the sample before any further analysis. Here we discuss how products and services from Cell Guidance Systems can help with this important task.