Year
2025
Principal Investigator
Platform 1
Platform 2
Location
Italy, IT
Abstract
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are key mediators of intercellular communication and hold promise for diagnostics and therapeutics, especially in neurodegenerative disorders. The VIBRANT project aims to overcome current limitations in EV analysis by developing a novel microfluidic lab-on-chip platform enabling real-time observation of EV production and dynamics. By integrating MEMS technology, advanced 3D fabrication, and surface functionalization, the device allows multi-cell trapping and biomarker detection. A core focus is understanding how microgravity influences EV characteristics, with implications for space health and terrestrial medicine. Using drop tower experiments and a custom-built random positioning machine (RPM), we simulate microgravity to assess changes in EV behavior and identify neurodegenerative biomarkers. AI-powered data analytics will support pattern recognition and biomarker correlation. VIBRANT addresses fundamental EV biology questions and enhances microfluidic platforms for biomedical and space research.
Objectives
- Objective 1 - Develop an innovative microfluidic platform for co-culturing multiple cell types and studying EV production in dynamic environments.
- Objective 2 – Investigate the effects of simulated microgravity on EV dynamics and neurodegenerative biomarker expression.
- Objective 3 – Implement machine learning tools to analyze EV profiles and identify patterns indicative of disease processes.
Key 5 publications
- 1. Foscarini A, Siciliano G, Menon I, Primiceri E, Turco A, Romano A, Gigli G, Ferrara F, Chiriacò MS. Innovative ultrasensitive electrochemical detection for extracellular vesicles characterization. Submitted to “Biosensors and Bioelectronics”.
- 2. Foscarini A. Garzarelli G, Indirli V, Mangiullo D, Verri T, Primiceri E, Nigro A, Quattrini A, Romano A, Chiriacò MS, Gigli G, Ferrara F. Lab On chips for liquid biopsy: a flexible and customized approach. Under revision to “Biomedical Microdevices”.
- 3. Foscarini A, Romano F, Garzarelli V, Turco A, Bramanti AP, Tarantini I, Ferrara F, Visconti P, Gigli G, Chiriacò MS. A Microfluidic-Based Sensing Platform for Rapid Quality Control on Target Cells from Bioreactors. Sensors (Basel). 2024 Nov 16;24(22):7329. doi: 10.3390/s24227329
- 4. Ferrara F., Zoupanou S., Primiceri E., Ali Z., Chiriacò M.S. Beyond liquid biopsy: Toward non-invasive assays for distanced cancer diagnostics in pandemics. Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 2022 Article number 113698
- 5. Volpe, A., Krishnan, U., Chiriacò, M.S., Ancona, A., Ferrara, F. A Smart Procedure for the Femtosecond Laser-Based Fabrication of a Polymeric Lab-on-a-Chip for Capturing Tumor Cell Engineering, 2021, 7(10), pp. 1434–1440