A study of extracellular vesicles isolated from blood plasma conducted by low-voltage scanning electron microscopy

Abstract

Extracellular vesicles secreted by cells represent an almost spherical membrane structures enriched with biological molecules of different types. The number and molecular composition of these structures depend on both the physiological state of an organism and underlying diseases. Despite extracellular vesicles playing an important role in intercellular communication and being potential biomarkers of pathological processes, the mechanisms of their formation, their functions, and their morphological characteristics are poorly studied. Low-voltage scanning electron microscopy is a promising method for studying extracellular vesicles, since it does not need a layer of conductive covering and, consequently, permits morphological details of studied objects to be vizualized at a high resolution in a nanometer range. The results of investigation of the morphology and sizes of objects in blood-plasma fractions by low-voltage scanning electron microscopy are presented in this study.