Complete Extracellular Vesicle Research Solutions

Advancing EV Science: From Isolation to Functional Characterization

Extracellular vesicles are membrane-bound particles released by cells that play crucial roles in intercellular communication. Exosomes, the most studied EV subtype, are small vesicles (30-150 nm) that transport proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids between cells, influencing both normal physiology and disease progression.

Cosmo Bio USA provides the most comprehensive portfolio of extracellular vesicle (EV) research tools available today, empowering scientists with cutting-edge and best-in-class solutions for EV detection, isolation, and characterization. Our extensive product line serves researchers across cancer biology, regenerative medicine, and biomarker discovery applications.

Advanced Extracellular Vesicle Detection

Exorapid-qIC® Immunochromatographic Detection Kits

Our Exorapid-qIC immunochromatographic kits for extracellular vesicles utilize proprietary gold nanoplate technology for fast, user-friendly quantitative detection of exosomes in biological samples. These kits provide: 

 

    • Assay kits for key tetraspanins: CD9, CD63, CD81 

    • Rapid detection with clear, visual results in approximately 45 minutes. 

    • Streamlined EV workflow requires no specialized equipment and no lengthy protocols. 

    • An essential tool for quality control, exosome validation, and process optimization in research and bioprocess monitoring labs.

Medical testing kit with vials, pipettes, and a box.

Exosome Purification and Isolation Solutions

Polymer-based Precipitation

The EXORPTION® Extracellular Vesicles Purification Kit enables rapid and high-purity isolation of EVs from biological fluids like serum, plasma, urine, or conditioned media without ultracentrifugation. An excellent choice for rapid and routine molecular cargo profiling. 

    • Ideal for high throughput screening in protein and nucleic acid characterization studies. 

    • Reliable performance in 1-2 hours with a ready-to-use, precipitation-based kit. 

    • Maintains EV integrity and bioactivity with superior efficiency and reproducibility. 

    • Not designed for applications requiring ultra-pure EVs or functional assays. 

Density Gradient Ultracentrifugation

OptiPrep™ Density Gradient Media is the gold-standard for high purity exosome purification and utilizes ultracentrifugation: 

    • Precise density gradients with a sterile, endotoxin-tested 60% iodixanol solution 

    • Efficient separation of exosomes based on buoyant density, removing protein aggregates, lipoproteins, and contaminants. 

    • Exceptional purity results are ideal for RNA profiling and proteomics applications. 

    • Not recommended for high throughput applications 

Affinity-Based Chromatography

ExoTrap™ Exosome Isolation Spin Column Kit offers a fast, user-friendly solution for isolating exosomes. Using an affinity-based spin column system, it is designed for protein-focused EV research: 

    • Selectively captures exosomes from serum, plasma, or cell culture supernatants. 

    • Preserves structural integrity for downstream applications like Western blotting, ELISA, or proteomic profiling 

    • Optimized for convenience and reliability, delivers clean, functional exosome preparations in hours 

    • Best suited for targeted EV capture and is less scalable for high-throughput applications.

 

Exosome Research Solutions

Exosomes are a subtype of extracellular vesicles (EVs), typically 30–150 nm in diameter, that originate from the endosomal compartment of cells and are released into the extracellular environment via fusion of multivesicular bodies with the plasma membrane.

They play a central role in intercellular communication, transporting a rich cargo of proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids that can modulate gene expression, signaling pathways, and cellular behavior in recipient cells. Exosomes influence both physiological processes such as immune regulation, tissue repair, and stem cell differentiation, as well as pathological mechanisms, including tumor progression, metastasis, neuroinflammation, and viral spread.

Their inherent stability in biofluids and specificity to their cell of origin make them highly valuable as non-invasive biomarkers and next-generation delivery vehicles for targeted therapeutics in diseases such as cancer, neurodegeneration, cardiovascular disease, and immunological disorders. As a result, exosomes are increasingly recognized as both tools and targets in precision medicine and translational research.

Support Reagents and Kits

ELISA Kits and Antibodies for Exosomes, by Marker

Tetraspanins

Endosomal/ESCRT Components

Lipid Raft-associated Protein

Heat Shock Proteins (Cargo Markers)

EV Biogenesis and Trafficking Markers

Extracellular Vesicle (EV) biogenesis and trafficking markers are molecular components that regulate the complex processes of formation, cargo sorting, intracellular transport, and release of EVs, especially exosomes and microvesicles, which originate from distinct cellular pathways. Exosome biogenesis and trafficking markers include TSG101, ALIX (PDCD6IP), CHMP4B, VPS4A/B, VPS37B, and MVB12A/B. These proteins coordinate the recognition and packaging of cargo and drive membrane remodeling.  Microvesicle biogenesis and trafficking markers include small GTPases ARF6 and RhoA, annexins, Rab GTPases Rab27A/B, Rab11, and Rab35, syntenin, and SMPD2.  

Understanding these markers is essential for: 

    • Dissecting EV biology 

    • Optimizing isolation protocols 

    • Engineering EVs for delivery applications 

    • Interpreting disease-specific EV signatures, especially in cancer, neurodegeneration, and infectious disease 

Small GTPases

RAB GTPases

ESCRT Machinery

Lipid-mediated Biogenesis

EV Cell of Origin Markers

Cell-of-origin or lineage-specific markers are molecular signatures—often proteins or RNAs—carried by extracellular vesicles (EVs) that reflect the identity and physiological state of the parent cell from which they were released. These markers are essential for determining the tissue or cellular source of EVs, particularly in complex biofluids such as blood, urine, or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), where vesicles from diverse origins coexist.  

Common cell-of-origin markers include: 

    • CD14 or CD11b for monocyte-derived EVs 

    • GFAP and TMEM119 for astrocyte and microglial EVs  

    • EpCAM for epithelial or tumor-derived vesicles  

    • L1CAM or GAD1/GAD2 for neuron-derived EVs 

Detecting these markers enables researchers to: 

    • Trace disease-relevant EV populations  

    • Interpret functional cargo profiles  

    • Develop precise diagnostic and monitoring tools, such as liquid biopsies for cancer or neurodegeneration 

Technologies like immunoaffinity capture, bead-based flow cytometry, RNA sequencing, and proteomics are frequently employed to identify and quantify these markers, providing critical insights into cell-specific EV biology and pathophysiology.  

Immune Cell Markers

Microglia Markers

Neurons and Neurotransmission Markers

Astrocyte Markers

Kidney and Epithelial Cell Markers

Stem and Mesenchymal Markers

EV Functional, Stress, and Tumor-associated Cargo Markers

Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) are not just passive carriers - they actively influence recipient cells and reshape their microenvironment through selective packaging and delivery of biologically active cargo. Under conditions such as cellular stress, hypoxia, inflammation, or oncogenic transformation, EVs undergo dynamic changes in their molecular composition incorporating: 

    • Stress-responsive and tumor-associated proteins (HSP70, annexin A2, galectin-3) 

    • Onco miRs (miR-21, miR-210) 

    • Immunomodulatory molecules (PD-L1, TGF-β) 

    • Metabolic enzymes (FASN, IDH1/2) 

EVs can promote: 

    • Cell survival 

    • Evade immune detection 

    • Stimulate angiogenesis 

    • Remodel the extracellular matrix 

    • Pre-condition distant tissues for metastasis 

This context-dependent cargo makes EVs powerful tools in biomarker discovery, enabling early detection of cancer and inflammatory diseases via non-invasive liquid biopsy.  

Moreover, their ability to mirror disease progression and tissue status positions them as strategic vehicles for therapeutic targeting, either by disrupting their communication pathways or engineering them to deliver therapeutic payloads. Advanced proteomic, transcriptomic, and lipidomic technologies are increasingly used to profile these cargo markers, offering deep insight into EV function and translational potential.   

EV Contamination Markers

In extracellular vesicle (EV) research, contamination or negative markers are proteins that should not be enriched in properly isolated EV preparations, particularly exosomes, and are used to evaluate sample purity and identify co-isolated non-EV material.
These markers originate from intracellular organelles and compartments not involved in EV biogenesis, such as the: 

    • Endoplasmic reticulum (e.g., calnexin, GRP94) 

    • Golgi apparatus (e.g., GM130) 

    • Mitochondria (e.g., cytochrome c, ATP5A) 

    • Nucleus (e.g., lamin B1, histones) 

    • Cytoskeleton (e.g., actin, tubulin, vimentin) 

The presence of these markers may indicate contamination from apoptotic bodies, cell debris, or protein aggregates introduced during isolation. According to the MISEV2018 guidelines by the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV), rigorous EV characterization should not only confirm the presence of positive markers but also demonstrate the absence of these negative markers to validate vesicle specificity and avoid misleading data. Commonly used detection methods for contaminating/negative markers are western blotting, proteomics, and flow cytometry. These tests ensure the structural and compositional integrity of EV samples, particularly in studies focused on biomarker discovery, functional analysis, or therapeutic development.  

Quality Products to Drive Forward Your EV Research Projects

Each product undergoes stringent quality control testing to ensure consistent results across experimental platforms, supporting reproducible research in this rapidly evolving field. 

Applications Across Research Fields

Cancer Research: 

    • Liquid biopsy development and validation 

    • Metastasis mechanism studies 

    • Drug resistance monitoring 

    • Immunotherapy response tracking 

 

Neuroscience: 

    • Neurodegeneration biomarker discovery 

    • Blood-brain barrier communication studies 

    • Neuroinflammation research 

    • Synaptic signaling investigation 

Regenerative Medicine: 

    • Stem cell communication analysis 

    • Tissue repair mechanism studies 

    • Therapeutic EV development 

    • Cell therapy optimization 

 

Immunology: 

    • Immune cell communication pathways 

    • Autoimmune disease mechanisms 

    • Vaccine development support 

    • Transplant rejection monitoring 

 

Advancing EV Research Excellence

Whether you're investigating EV-mediated tumor progression, developing liquid biopsy approaches, exploring therapeutic EV delivery systems, or studying physiological cell-to-cell communication, our integrated EV research solutions provide the reliability and performance needed for breakthrough discoveries. 

Choose Cosmo Bio USA for your extracellular vesicle research needs and join the growing community of scientists advancing our understanding of these remarkable cellular messengers. Our commitment to quality, innovation, and scientific excellence ensures that your research achieves the highest standards of reproducibility and impact. 

Ready to advance your EV research? Contact us today to discuss your specific research needs. 

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