Building core skills in Extracellular Vesicle analysis and applications - Research School 2025 

From the 2nd to the 5th of October 2025, PhD students and young researchers from all around the world took part in the Research School “Basics to Work with Extracellular Vesicles (EVs)”, a four-day program designed to build a strong foundation in both the theoretical and practical aspects of EV research. 

Throughout the course, participants learned about EV isolation and validation methods, as well as advanced analytical and application techniques. The lectures covered topics such as EV research standards, purification methods, microscopy, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Glycoprofiling, Imaging Flow Cytometry, and Hollow Fiber Bioreactors. Workshops provided hands-on experience with Tangential Flow Filtration (TFF), Size Exclusion Chromatography (SEC), Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis (ZetaView®), EV RNA extraction and analysis, fluorescence-based NTA, Glycoprofiling, and Imaging Flow Cytometry Simulation.

Participants developed practical skills in EV isolation, operation of ZetaView® NTA, RNA extraction and quality analysis, and data processing and visualization. They also practiced designing EV assays for imaging flow cytometry and glycoprofiling.

The Research School combined lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on laboratory work, supported by case studies, simulated data, and collaborative group learning with mentoring and peer presentations.

Workshops were carried out using specialized instruments, including the ZetaView® Nanoparticle Tracking Analyzer (Particle Metrix GmbH), TFF-Easy System (HansaBioMed Life Sciences), Manual SEC Columns with Sepharose™ Resin, Qubit 2.0 Fluorometer, Agilent Bioanalyzer (RNA 6000 Pico Kit), Cytometry and Flow Cytometry Simulation Software, and the FiberCell® Bioreactor System.

The LabBook from the Research School is available here: Lab Book 2025

You can also read feedback from the Research School's participants: link