Researchers from Incheon National University spotlight next-generation EV diagnostics
A new generation of single-vesicle tools enables earlier diagnosis, sharper disease tracking, and more personalized treatment decisions
image: Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are tiny cellular messengers carrying key biological signals. This study showcases advanced methods to analyze EVs individually and in detail, helping detect subtle differences and rare disease markers, with strong potential for earlier diagnosis and more precise, personalized treatments.
Credit: Guillaume Pelletier from Wikimedia Commons Image source link: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Exosome_with_hsp70.png
Extracellular vesicles, or EVs, are tiny membrane-bound particles released by nearly all cells. They carry proteins, RNA, lipids, and other biological cargo that reflect the condition of their parent cells. Because EVs circulate in blood, urine, and other body fluids, scientists see them as promising biomarkers for diagnosing diseases without invasive biopsies. However, traditional laboratory methods such as Western blotting and ELISA analyze EVs in bulk, averaging signals across millions of particles and often missing rare but clinically important subpopulations.
To address this issue, researchers from Incheon National University, led by Assistant Professor Yoon Ho Roh, from Department of Energy and Chemical Engineering at Incheon National University, along with Assistant Professor Jina Ko from Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at University of Pennsylvania, reviewed the latest technologies designed to isolate and analyze EVs individually. Their assessment focused on systems that partition single vesicles using substrate-based, droplet-based, and solution-based platforms. This paper was made available online on December 1, 2025 and published in Volume 195 of TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry in February, 2026.
The review shows that modern single-EV platforms combine physical separation methods with molecular labeling strategies such as fluorescence tagging, DNA barcoding, and molecular encoding. Some systems also use rolling circle amplification and nanoplasmonic surfaces to greatly boost weak signals, allowing detection of biomarkers at near single-molecule sensitivity. High-throughput droplet microfluidic and sequencing approaches can already profile tens of thousands of vesicles from a single sample, generating richer data than conventional assays.
“By examining vesicles one at a time, we can reveal hidden biological diversity that bulk tests simply cannot detect,” explained Dr. Roh. “This opens the door to more sensitive and accurate disease screening.”
Clinical studies cited in the review suggest these tools can distinguish healthy individuals from patients with pancreatic cancer, cholangiocarcinoma, and lung adenocarcinoma by identifying rare tumor-derived EVs in plasma. Beyond cancer, the same principles may help track cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative disorders, and inflammatory conditions using minimally invasive liquid biopsies. Because EVs are stable and widely accessible in body fluids, they could become practical biomarkers for routine monitoring.
Dr. Ko noted, “The future lies in combining multiple layers of information from the same vesicle, including proteins, RNA, lipids, and even physical properties such as stiffness.” Such multi-omic profiling could provide a clearer picture of disease mechanisms and patient-specific risk.
Looking ahead, the authors expect artificial intelligence to play a major role in interpreting the vast datasets produced by these systems. Platforms capable of analyzing one million vesicles per test may soon be feasible, improving detection of extremely rare disease signals. Over the next decade, single-EV profiling could move from specialized laboratories into mainstream healthcare, supporting earlier diagnosis, treatment selection, and truly personalized medicine.
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Reference
Authors: Juhwan Park1, Hansol Kim2, Yoon Ho Roh3, Jina Ko4
DOI: 10.1016/j.trac.2025.118588
About Incheon National University
Incheon National University (INU) is a comprehensive, student-focused university. It was founded in 1979 and given university status in 1988. One of the largest universities in South Korea, it houses nearly 14,000 students and 500 faculty members. In 2010, INU merged with Incheon City College to expand capacity and open more curricula. With its commitment to academic excellence and an unrelenting devotion to innovative research, INU offers its students real-world internship experiences. INU not only focuses on studying and learning but also strives to provide a supportive environment for students to follow their passion, grow, and, as their slogan says, be INspired.
Website: https://www.inu.ac.kr/sites/inuengl/index.do?epTicket=LOG
About Assistant Professor Yoon Ho Roh from Incheon National University
Yoon Ho Roh earned his B.S. (2015) and Ph.D. (2021) in Chemical and Biological Engineering from Korea University. He completed postdoctoral research at the Center for Nanomedicine, Institute for Basic Science (2021–2022) and later worked at the University of Pennsylvania, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (2022–2025). In 2025, he joined Incheon National University as assistant professor. His research focuses on hydrogel-based biosensors, digital CRISPR/Cas diagnostics, and high-resolution single extracellular vesicle characterization for clinical applications and advancing precision medicine worldwide.