FIMM HiPREP Extracellular Vesicles Core

FIMM HiPREP offers EV Core services together with the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences (Viikki campus) since 2016. We offer state-of-the-art and emerging EV technologies for research groups, hospitals, companies and authorities interested in EVs. In addition to our own technologies, we mediate contacts to various downstream analyses in other core facilities e.g. omics, for which we have optimized the EV sample input.

The EV Core is divided to two units, where EV Core FIMM focuses on EVs from liquid biopsy samples, including isolation and analysis of EV and EV-RNA as well as electron microscopy samples. EV Core Viikki is dedicated to the characterization of EVs using particle analysis instruments, and functional assays. Both units work together to develop SOPs for sample handling, EV isolations and downstream applications and to test new methods.

New customers or projects

Please contact the EV-unit personnel to discuss the experimental setup: ev-core@helsinki.fi

EV Core provides EV isolation by both traditional and novel methods suited to the special requirements of each sample type and down-stream analysis. Please contact: ev-core@helsinki.fi.

Electron microscopy (EM) is one of the basic characterization techniques used to verify the success of EV isolation and to detect specific antigens such as EV marker proteins directly in situ. EM allows visualization and quantification of the morphology, size distribution and labelling of the EVs. It also gives information about the purity of EV preparations.

EM service of the EV Core provides characterization of EVs particularly in the size range of:

• Exosomes (~30-150 nm)
• Microvesicles (~50-1000 nm)

EV Core FIMM provides EM and immuno-EM sample preparation using negative staining protocol and microscopy of the EV samples. Minimum number of samples for EM is four. Basic solutions and disposables are provided. The suspension buffer of the EV sample should preferably be filtered with 0.1-0.2 µm filter to deplete any external particles in the sample. For best EM results, the particle concentration of the sample should be measured by Nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) at EV Core Viikki.

EV core facility collaborates with the EM unit, Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki.

EV Core provides RNA isolation and quality check from EV samples using methods suited to low RNA amounts. RNA can be used in any down-stream application including next-generation sequencing. For quality control, we use Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer, TapeStation 4200 and Quant-iTTM systems. We also prepare plates and deliver RNA samples to the FIMM sequencing unit. All solutions and disposables are provided.

EV core facility links with the FIMM Technology Centre's Sequencing and HiPrep units.