Cyclic tangential flow filtration system for isolation of extracellular vesicles

Size-based filtration techniques have been developed for high-throughput isolation of extracellular vesicles (EVs). Conventional direct filtration systems have limitations in that large particles generally not only block the pores of the membrane but also damage the particles because of the high fluid pressure. Here, we propose a cyclic tangential flow filtration (TFF) system that includes two membranes with pore sizes of 200 and 30 nm, connected to a peristaltic pump that feeds the stream flowing to the membrane for continuous circulation. The cyclic TFF system is better able to isolate the specific 30–200 nm size range in one step through dual cyclic filtration compared with direct filtration (DF) and single cyclic TFF (scTFF). We further introduced a buffer-exchange process to the dcTFF system after filtration to remove contaminants for more efficient purification. As a result of comparative evaluation of dcTFF and ExoQuick, EVs isolated by dcTFF had more abundant exosome markers and active EVs. The cyclic TFF system not only has great potential to separate EVs with high selectivity and separation efficiency in small volumes of samples but can also be used in clinical applications, including medical diagnostic procedures.