Efficient and Rapid Enrichment of Extracellular Vesicles Using DNA Nanotechnology-Enabled Synthetic Nano-Glue

Abstract

Swift and efficient enrichment and isolation of extracellular vesicles (EVs) are crucial for enhancing precise disease diagnostics and therapeutic strategies, as well as elucidating the complex biological roles of EVs. Conventional methods of isolating EVs are often marred by lengthy and laborious processes. In this study, we introduce an innovative approach to enrich and isolate EVs by leveraging the capabilities of DNA nanotechnology. We have developed a novel multivalent cholesterol-modified paranemic crossover DNA (PX-DNA-chol) construct, which is a four-stranded DNA structure containing adjacent double helices intertwined with their local helix axes parallel and serves as an effective synthetic nano-glue. This construct promotes the rapid coalescence of nanoscale EVs into clusters of micrometer scale, thereby streamlining their enrichment. Utilizing a conventional low-speed centrifuge, this intriguing methodology achieves a rapid concentration of EVs within minutes, bypassing the laborious and high-speed centrifugation steps typically required. The quality of EVs isolated by our technique is comparable to that obtained through ultracentrifugation methods. Given these advancements, our PX-DNA-chol-facilitated EVs enrichment protocol is poised to advance the field of EVs research, providing a robust and accessible tool for in-depth studies of EVs.