Table 1.
Characteristics of the antibody-based assays reviewed here.
| Technique | Purification | Optimized to analyse | Sample | Timeframe∗ | Multiplexing (markers/samples) |
Output |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flow cytometry | ±centrifugation∗∗ | EVs ≥ 300 nm | 50–100 µL | Hours | Limited/1 | Size distribution, phenotype, enumeration |
|
| ||||||
| EV Array | None | Exosomes | ≥10 µL | Days | 60/20 | Relative quantification of amount and phenotype |
|
| ||||||
| SPRi microarray | None | Exosomes | 5 µL/s | Minutes | Several (Limit not indicated)/1 | Relative quantification of amount and phenotype |
|
| ||||||
| nPLEX | Filtration ± centrifugation | Exosomes | 12 µL | Minutes | Prototype 1/12 or 12/1 (scalable) | Relative quantification of amount and phenotype |
|
| ||||||
| µNMR | Filtration + centrifugation | Exosomes | 1 µL (pelleted EVs) | Minutes | 1/3 | Relative quantification of amount and phenotype |
|
| ||||||
| Bead-based microfluidic | None | Exosomes | ≥30 µL | Hours | 1/1 | Quantification of phenotype (surface and IC) |
∗Preanalytical purification procedures not included. ∗∗Ultracentrifugation and density gradient centrifugation are often required when exosomes are analyzed by flow cytometry; however, when analyzing MVs, preanalytical purification is not always performed.