Single-cell microdevice isolates and profiles extracellular vesicles over weeks

Extracellular vesicles and particles play a central role in how cells communicate, particularly in cancer, where they help shape metastasis and resistance to treatment. However, most existing methods analyze vesicles en bloc, thereby masking differences between individual cells. Some single-vesicle techniques offer detail at the particle level but lose information about the cell that produced them. Other single-cell platforms face practical limitations, such as short culture times or mixing of signals between cells. These limitations make it difficult to study the behavior of individual cells over time. Given these challenges, there is a clear need for technologies that can cultivate single cells long-term while isolating and analyzing the vesicles produced by each cell.