ACTIVE PROJECTS | 2022-12-31 2022.12.31.

Development of a Chromatographic Device for the Automated Separation of Extracellular Vesicles and Other Biological Nanoparticles

Applicant Name: KOMTESZ Communication and Technical Services Limited Partnership

Project Title: Development of a Chromatographic Device for the Automated Separation of Extracellular Vesicles and Other Biological Nanoparticles

Contract Number: 2021-1.1.4-GYORSÍTÓSÁV-2022-00072

Grant Amount (HUF): 176 388 000

Total Cost (HUF): 225 460 000

Obligation to Provide Collateral: No

Project Start Date: 2023.03.01.

Physical Completion Deadline: 2026.02.28.

Final Financial Report Submission Deadline: 2026.05.01.

Original Effective Date: 2022.12.13.

Project Overview

The developed prototype is a device with internationally significant value, designed with key development criteria in mind, including ease of use, compact design, automated cleaning, reliability, and minimal maintenance requirements. Its operation requires only a low level of technical expertise, significantly facilitating the widespread adoption of extracellular vesicle (EV)-based diagnostics and related research. This advancement is expected to simplify and shorten the process of sample analysis for numerous diseases, supporting timely prevention. The device's full automation represents a major step forward compared to the current state of knowledge, as such technology has not yet been introduced in either related research or industrial fields. Manual isolation requires extensive expertise in molecular biology, spectroscopy, flow chemistry, and chromatography. The software component integrates these professional considerations, providing an evaluation system based on them, along with a user-friendly graphical interface. 

A major objective of the project is to demonstrate the real-world applicability of the developed instrument and to maximise its efficiency in analysing specific biological samples. During the project, microvesicular RNA analysis will be conducted on plasma samples from healthy volunteers, tumour cell lines, and potentially patient-derived samples (e.g., from cancer types with high mortality rates in Hungary). Additionally, marker proteins on vesicles will be labelled with fluorescent antibodies. Simultaneously, the developed prototype will be used to isolate and characterise vesicles. Our aim is to determine the optimal combination of parameters that allows the device to collect vesicle types providing the most valuable information regarding the stage of a given disease.