A Lab's Ingenious Solution to a Storage Dilemma

At the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, Professor Robert Gourdie and his innovative team have made incredible strides in utilizing exosomes—microscopic structures found in cow's milk—as carriers for medicine. Their breakthrough extraction methods sparked an unexpected challenge: how to efficiently store the massive quantities they were producing.

Traditional freezing techniques proved insufficient, leading to exosome damage. Gourdie remarked, "Ice crystals are like a woodchipper on anything biological!" Undeterred, his team explored alternative storage solutions.

A Game-Changing Freeze-Drying Method Emerges

The researchers have now enhanced a freeze-drying technique that keeps exosomes stable for up to one year at room temperature. This monumental advancement means that exosomes can now be delivered in capsule form and shipped without relying on an expensive cold-supply chain. This breakthrough has potent implications for drug delivery, particularly through Gourdie's startup, Tiny Cargo Co.

In a recently published article in the Journal of Biological Engineering, Gourdie declared, "This is a milestone toward harnessing exosomes for real-world biomedical use, especially in targeted drug delivery and next-generation diagnostics."

Unleashing the Power of Exosomes

Exosomes, measuring just 30 to 150 nanometers in diameter, are released by numerous cell types and can be found in trillions within a quart of raw milk. These biological vehicles have shown remarkable potential to protect drugs from degradation and to target hostilities posed by the body’s immune response, ensuring that medications reach diseased areas.

In the quest to deliver lab-developed wound-healing peptides, Gourdie's team created a sophisticated filtration method that vastly outweighs previous extraction techniques that relied on cultured cells, which produced merely trace amounts.

Innovative Research Leads to Expanding Horizons

Faced with the limitations of storing exosomes at ultra-low temperatures, the team sought an innovative solution. Alan Dogan, a dedicated student in Gourdie's lab, proposed stabilizing exosomes through freeze-drying. After much research, they found that adding tryptophan, an amino acid abundant in colostrum, effectively enhanced the stability of exosomes during the drying process.

Gourdie explained, "We think tryptophan decorates the outside of the exosomes, preventing them from clumping together and providing a protective layer—a little suit of armor." This ingenious approach not only resolved their storage issue but also opened the door for large-scale exosome production.

Commercial Opportunities and Future Prospects

Spencer Marsh, chief scientific officer at Tiny Cargo, highlighted how this advancement streamlines commercial distribution: "This allows for a seamless process where exosomes can be stored on shelves and accessed anytime a customer needs them." The startup is gearing up to supply exosomes loaded with wound-healing compounds for treating radiation exposure in industrial settings and mitigating the side effects of cancer therapies.

Previously, exosomes had to be frozen for quick use or produced on demand, incurring significant shipping costs. Now, they can be inexpensively transported at room temperature and packaged into capsules for oral delivery.

Beyond immediate applications, the rejuvenating properties of exosomes even without peptide loading open exciting avenues in pharmaceutical cosmetics, such as innovative skin-tightening creams.

A New Era in Drug Delivery