Over the past two decades, extracellular vesicles (EVs) have transitioned from being considered cellular debris to taking center stage as powerful mediators of intercellular communication. These nanoscale particles have become critical to the development of new tools in both therapeutics and diagnostics. Whether engineered as viral-free delivery systems for genes and drugs or analyzed in biofluids for early detection of conditions like cancer or Alzheimer’s disease, EVs are redefining modern medicine.
In diagnostics, the promise of liquid biopsy is already materializing, with EV-based assays such as Exosome Diagnostics prostate test having been on the market for over 5 years, Mercy BioAnayltics’ recent FDA Breakthrough Device Designation for Ovarian Cancer Screening in Asymptomatic, Postmenopausal Women, and Mursla Bio’s FDA Breakthrough Device Designation for their EvoLiver™ test. Yet, to unlock the full diagnostic potential of EVs, researchers must scale up biomarker discovery, especially through proteomics and RNA sequencing, across large patient cohorts and tightly matched controls. Doing so requires robust, reproducible, and high-throughput EV isolation workflows that is driving Everest Biolabs’ mission to remove these bottlenecks .
The Challenge of Manual SEC Isolation
To date, size exclusion chromatography (SEC) stands as the method of choice for EV isolation, offering an optimal balance between yield and purity, as recommended in the MISEV2023 guidelines. However, standard gravity-fed SEC columns are inherently labor-intensive and low-throughput. A typical isolation workflow, illustrated below, takes over an hour of hands-on time that involves: 1. column pre-equilibration, 2. manual sample loading, 3. buffer addition, and 4. fraction-by-fraction collection.
To date, size exclusion chromatography (SEC) stands as the method of choice for EV isolation, offering an optimal balance between yield and purity, as recommended in the MISEV2023 guidelines. However, standard gravity-fed SEC columns are inherently labor-intensive and low-throughput. A typical isolation workflow, illustrated below, takes over an hour of hands-on time that involves:
- Column pre-equilibration
- Manual sample loading
- Buffer addition
- Fraction-by-fraction collection
Introducing Automation: The Ascent of Everest Biolabs
In November 2024, Everest Biolabs launched the Ascent instrument, a first-of-its-kind device designed for true parallel and hands-free SEC-based EV isolation. Capable of running 8 samples simultaneously, the Ascent eliminates the need for manual intervention after sample loading, freeing researchers to focus on analysis rather than routine tasks.
More than a fixed system, the Ascent is an open platform, compatible with Everest’s own Apex columns, as well as third-party and home-packed columns. With programmable buffer dispensing and the ability to collect up to 12 precise fractions per column, the Ascent delivers both flexibility and reliability.
Productivity at Scale
Compared to single-column setups, the Ascent offers dramatic time savings: what would take two weeks manually can now be done in three days. Just as importantly, the platform ensures exceptional reproducibility, with a low CV in fraction volumes, eliminating the inconsistencies that often plague manual SEC workflows.
By minimizing human error, the Ascent protects the integrity of precious samples, reducing the risk of uneven, missed, or contaminated fractions, which are errors that can compromise downstream omics studies.
The table below highlights the improvements in throughput and sample quality achieved with Everest Biolabs’ automated solutions.
| Manual | AFC (Izon) | Ascent (Everest) | Summit (Everest) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of samples at a time (# columns) | User-dependent | 1 | 8 | 48 |
| Approximate hands on-time per run (minutes) | 70 | 5 but requires monitoring | 5 | 10 |
| Fully automatic wash | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Column Saver* | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Total time for 96 samples | One week – full hands-on time | One week | 3 days | < 1 day |
| Automatic concentration | No | No | No | Yes |
| Open platform | N/A | Izon only | Compatible with multiple column vendors | Everest only |
* prevents columns from drying out, i.e. allows unattended use.
From Discovery to Clinical Validation: The Summit
Anticipating the demands of large-scale clinical studies, Everest Biolabs has also developed the Summit instrument, a fully autonomous high-throughput platform that can isolate EVs from up to 48 samples in parallel. The Summit launched at the ISEV2025 conference in Vienna. Built for scalability and reliability, the Summit uses a SEC plate format with the same gel volume as Apex columns and performs the entire workflow, from column preparation to EV recovery in a 96-well format, without user intervention.
Ideal for biomarker discovery and diagnostics validation involving 1,000+ clinical samples, the Summit streamlines every step:
- Automated gel equilibration
- Sample loading and run
- Collection in concentration plates if concentrating
- Transfer to assay-ready wells
With the Summit, Everest Biolabs enables a level of speed, consistency, and throughput that makes EV-based clinical studies feasible at scale, something previously out of reach due to time and labor constraints.
Finding the right SEC for your application: introducing the Column Selector
EV isolation using size exclusion chromatography often involves trade-offs between yield and purity, making it essential to select the right column based on both your sample type and downstream application. For example, when working with samples that have low protein contamination, there’s no need to compromise yield for purity. Conversely, high-purity isolation is critical for omics (e.g. proteomics) analyses, where even minimal contaminants can interfere with results. Drawing on our deep expertise in extracellular vesicles, Everest Biolabs has developed a smart selection tool to help you quickly identify the most suitable SEC column for your specific experimental needs, optimizing both performance and efficiency.
Conclusion
As EV-based diagnostics move closer to clinical reality, automation is no longer a luxury, it’s a necessity. Everest Biolabs’ Ascent and Summit platforms provide scalable, reproducible, and efficient solutions to meet the growing demands of EV research. Whether you’re processing 1 sample or 1,000 samples, Everest Biolabs empowers you to move faster, reduce variability, and focus on what truly matters: unlocking the power of extracellular vesicles.
