Niki Vassilaki - Secondment from HPI to UBFC

Niki Vassilaki visited UBFC for her secondment in May. Her work focused on the isolation of EVs from cell culture supernatants and the development of standardized characterization methods to be shared with the EXPAND-EV partners.

Key activities included the preparation and chemical functionalization of cryogels for EV isolation through nanobody immobilization, as well as the establishment of Standard Operating Procedures for EV analysis. These procedures encompassed nanoparticle tracking analysis, flow cytometry, western blotting, confocal microscopy, and a range of biochemical assays to evaluate EV size, concentration, protein, and lipid content. The secondment also provided Niki valuable hands-on experience in cryogel preparation for EV isolation.