Izon qNano, User Manual, Page: 32 / 56

3 / Maintaining sample integrity
General points
Nanoparticle surface groups often behave differently in different chemical
environments. Changes in ionic strength and pH can cause significant
chemical changes at the nanoparticle surface. For biological particles such as
viruses and extracellular vesicles, these chemical changes can destroy surface
functionalities like surface proteins and RNA. Maintaining the suspension
conditions that particles were formed in is relatively simple way of preserving
the functionality of all particles.
Biological samples
Immunoassay techniques use membrane-bound proteins as markers
to distinguish between specific bio-nanoparticles (messenger or carrier
EVs, different types of lipoproteins, etc.). These surface proteins can be
destroyed or damaged by significant changes in solution pH, ionic strength
and temperature, as well as by the presence of strong detergents (SDS) and
destructive enzymes. It is important to maintain the suspension conditions
throughout the sample cleaning process. It is also important to remove cells
from samples, as both living and dead cells can release destructive agents
into the suspension.
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