Rapid Enrichment of Extracellular Vesicles via Optically-induced Dielectrophoresis and Microfluidics

This study demonstrates a novel method to enrich and recover extracellular vesicles (EVs) by using an integrated microfluidic system and optically-induced dielectrophoresis (ODEP) technique. It is the first time that label-free and contact-free enrichment and recovery of EVs via ODEP with minimal intervention has been achieved. The optimal driving frequency (20 kHz) was found for EV manipulation via ODEP. The rapid and automatic procedure could be performed to enrich and recover 20 μL of the EV sample with a recovery rate of 27.8% within 3 min by using an integrated microfluidic optically-induced EV sorting chip and a home-made control system, showing great potential for further EV-associated applications.