# Development of plasmon-enhanced biosensing for multiplexed profiling of extracellular vesicles

> **NIH NIH R01** · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · 2020 · $357,000

## Abstract

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) present new opportunities for molecular diagnostics from non-invasive liquid
biopsies. These cell-derived membrane-bound vesicles are abundantly present in biological fluids. EVs carry
cell-specific cargos (e.g., lipids, proteins, and genetic materials), which can be harnessed to probe the
molecular status of their cellular origins. EV analyses, however, pose unique technical challenges due to EVs'
nanometer-sizes and presence in a vast biological background. EV analyses, however, pose unique technical
challenges due to EVs' nanometer-sizes and presence in a vast biological background. While new
technologies for EV analysis have been developed, fundamental limitations still remain, including i) low
sensitivity limited to bulk analyses; ii) necessities of EV lysis for detecting markers inside of EVs; iii) lack of
multiplexed analysis on protein and RNA markers; and iv) a separate EV isolation process required prior to the
assay. The overall goal of this application is to overcome these technical challenges and develop a new
platform that enables multiplexed analyses of EV protein and RNA markers in individual EVs. We previously
developed a nanoplasmonic EV sensing platform based on transmission surface plasmon resonance through
periodic nanohole gratings. We showed that the nanoplasmonic sensors could rapidly and sensitively detect
disease-specific EVs directly from clinical samples. In this project, we will further advance the technology for
robust multiplexed EV analysis and implement on-chip EV isolation to achieve simple assay procedures and
good reproducibility. We will validate the system using well-established preclinical and clinical samples to
demonstrate the feasibility and potential of the new technology for clinical applications. Successful completion
of the project will produce a highly sensitive sensing platform for multiplexed EV analysis. The development of
such a technology could offer additional insight into understanding subtypes, heterogeneity, and production
dynamics of EVs during disease development and progression. The gained insights will pave the way for
expanding EV studies to various diseases, further broadening the scope of EV applications in clinical settings.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10031956
- **Project number:** 1R01GM138778-01
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Hyungsoon Im
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $357,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-01 → 2025-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10031956

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10031956, Development of plasmon-enhanced biosensing for multiplexed profiling of extracellular vesicles (1R01GM138778-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10031956. Licensed CC0.

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