Choice of size-exclusion chromatography column affects recovery, purity, and miRNA cargo analysis of extracellular vesicles from human plasma

The miRNA cargo of plasma extracellular vesicles (EVs) is commonly studied for its biomarker potential. However, isolation of EVs from human plasma is challenging. Although size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) is commonly used to isolate plasma EVs, SEC does not completely separate EVs from other miRNA carriers such as cells, lipoproteins, and proteins. Recently, new SEC columns were introduced, but hitherto, no systematic study was performed to compare the recovery and purity of plasma EVs using both traditional and new columns. In this study, we investigated the recovery of EVs and separation efficacy from lipoproteins and proteins using different SEC columns, and how recovery and separation affect miRNA cargo analysis.