Lidija Filipović - Secondment from ICFC to HPI

From 15 July to 15 August 2026, Lidija Filipović completed a research secondment at the Hellenic Pasteur Institute in Athens within the EXPAND-EV project, under the supervision of Dr Niki Vassilaki.

The work focused on evaluating magnetic particles as a solid phase for protein immobilization and affinity-based isolation of extracellular vesicles (EVs). Their protein-binding capacity and performance in EV isolation were assessed, while the isolated vesicles were characterized using nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA). In parallel, IHH and Huh7 cells were cultured for EV production, and the collected conditioned media were concentrated for further isolation and characterization. The resulting EV samples were also prepared for glycomic analysis by consortium partners.

The secondment provided additional hands-on training in NTA, including sample preparation, instrument operation, optimization of measurement parameters, data acquisition and result interpretation. It also strengthened collaboration and the exchange of samples, methodologies and expertise within the EXPAND-EV consortium.