Imaging single particle profiler to study nanoscale bioparticles using conventional confocal microscopy

Abstract

Single particle profiler is a unique methodology to study nanoscale bioparticles such as liposomes, lipid nanoparticles, extracellular vesicles and lipoproteins in single particle and high throughput manner. The original version requires the single photon counting modules for data acquisition. Here, we present imaging-based SPP (iSPP) which can be performed by imaging a spot over time in common imaging mode with photomultiplier tubes. We also provide a user-friendly software with graphical user interface to facilitate the application of this technique. We demonstrate that iSPP can be used to decipher lipid-protein interactions, membrane modifications by drugs and the heterogeneity of extracellular vesicles isolated from cells lines and urine of human donors.