# A nanomagnetic platform technology to characterize traumatic brain injury using brain derived extracellular vesicles

> **NIH NIH R33** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2022 · $560,747

## Abstract

In the United States, 2.8 million people every year seek medical attention for traumatic brain
injury (TBI), of which 80% are considered to have a mild TBI (i.e. concussion). Even in those
with mild injuries, 10-20% of individuals will suffer long-term disability including seizures and
emotional and behavioral issues. One of the primary challenges in TBI care is appropriately
classifying this heterogeneous injury and identifying patients at risk for these chronic
impairments. Conventional imaging studies, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and
computed tomography (CT), are commonly used to classify TBI, but do not reliably capture the
full extent of the injury, particularly in those patients with mild injuries. Currently, there are few
molecular markers to assist in the assessment of an individual's unique injury and subsequent
recovery and biomarkers are desperately needed in the field that correlate with these varied
endophenotypes, track the progress of the disease, and predict clinical outcomes. To address
this challenge, we propose to develop a microchip-based platform that can be used to
characterize TBI and its recovery using the RNA cargo found in brain-derived circulating
extracellular vesicles (EVs), including exosomes. Unlike prior work that has mainly focused on
single biomarkers, our approach measures a panel of circulating EV miRNA markers processed
with machine learning algorithms, to more comprehensively capture the state of the injured and
recovering brain. Our proposal combines surface marker-specific nanomagnetic isolation of
brain-derived EVs from a variety of cell types, biomarker discovery using RNA sequencing, and
machine learning processing of EV miRNA cargo to measure the state of injury and recovery in
TBI.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10465255
- **Project number:** 5R33MH118170-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** David Aaron Issadore
- **Activity code:** R33 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $560,747
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-19 → 2025-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10465255

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10465255, A nanomagnetic platform technology to characterize traumatic brain injury using brain derived extracellular vesicles (5R33MH118170-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10465255. Licensed CC0.

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