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Exosomes are vesicles secreted by cells. They are present in a variety of body fluids such as serum, ascites, spinal cord fluid, urine, and saliva. Cultured cells also secrete significant number of exosomes. The size distribution of exosome is ranging from 30-120 nm. The biological function of exosomes is believed to serve as intercellular messengers. Filtration and ultracentrifugation are classical ways of isolating and enriching exosomes. This is a tedious process and requires special equipment. Another common way for enrichment of exosome is through precipitation. Currently major commercial kits are PEG-based. EI-027 is designed to precipitate total exosomes from biofluids using a high efficacy, non-PEG based reagent for exosome precipitation. This kit is suitable for routine biofluid samples using the same reagent and similar protocol.

The nuclear envelope is a very complex membrane-protein system that is notoriously difficult to isolate and purify because of its connection to nuclear and cytoplasmic components. Traditional methods of nuclear envelope isolation and purification require a large amount of starting material and a long, tedious procedure. Minute™ Nuclear Envelope Protein Extraction Kit is the first commercial kit designed to rapidly isolate nuclear envelope and its associated proteins in native form without using density-gradient and ultracentrifugation. Due to the use of protein extraction filter cartridges, the nuclear envelope protein isolation is simple and user-friendly. The nuclear envelope proteins are significantly enriched in the final prep. Unlike traditional methods that require large amounts of starting cells/tissues, this kit starts with only 10-20 million cells, and the buffers are detergent and EDTA free. The procedure can be completed in less than 45 minutes with a final yield of 10-50 µg protein/sample.

Minute™ Mitochondria Isolation Kit for Mammalian Cells and Tissues comprises optimized buffers and protein extraction filter cartridges with 2.0 ml collection tubes. The kit is designed to rapidly isolate native mitochondria proteins from cultured mammalian cells or tissues. Due to protein extraction filter cartridges, the protein isolation procedure is simple and provides a high yield. The process can be completed in less than 30 minutes. Unlike many commercial mitochondria preparation kits, this kit offers a wide range of starting cells and isolated mitochondria. The buffers are detergent and EDTA-free. A Dounce homogenizer or a tissue blender is not needed.

The kit is designed for rapid fractionation of fresh/frozen soft plant tissues, especially leaves. Unlike other commercial kit and Lab protocols, of which large amount of starting material (a few grams) and lengthy processing time are required, this kit only uses 100-200 mg starting material.  By using a specialized filter cartridge coupled with our proprietary buffer system, four subcellular fractions (cytosol, nuclei, chloroplasts and organelles) can be obtained in about 1 hour. The subcellular fractions can be used in numerous applications that include but not limited to protein trafficking, nuclear protein extraction and nucleic acid purification/sequencing. The highly enriched nuclei can be used for proteomics, flow cytometry analysis, DNA sequencing, and protein-protein/protein-DNA interaction studies. The subcellular fractionation protocol includes grinding tissue to release plant cells followed by disruption of the cell membrane by rapidly passing through the filter. Different subcellular fraction is obtained by differential centrifugation using only a table top centrifuge. This kit has been tested for use with many species such as Arabidopsis, Spinach, Peas, and Rape.

Lipid rafts are small membrane domains containing a high level of cholesterol and sphingolipids.  Lipid rafts are found in the plasma membrane (PM) and internal organellar membranes such as mitochondria-associated membrane (MAMs) and endoplasmic reticulum. They have been implicated in numerous cellular processes including but not limited to signal transduction, membrane trafficking, and protein sorting. Lipid-modified proteins and some transmembrane proteins are concentrated in the rafts while other proteins are excluded. Lipid rafts are also found to be associated with Na⁺/K⁺ ATPase on the plasma membrane. Lipid rafts are isolated by sucrose-gradient or OptiPrep gradient traditionally using ultracentrifugation that requires a large amount of starting material. The protocol is tedious and time-consuming. This kit was developed using our proprietary spin-column-based technologies, offering a rapid and easy way to isolate lipid rafts. Total membrane fraction (include PM and organelle membranes) is first isolated and treated with a non-ionic detergent containing buffer, followed by isolation of detergent-resistant fraction by flotation centrifugation using just a tabletop microcentrifuge. Highly enriched total lipid rafts can be obtained from cultured cells/tissues in less than 90 min without using density gradient and ultracentrifugation.

Lipid rafts are small membrane domains containing a high level of cholesterol and sphingolipids. Lipid rafts have been found in the plasma membrane (PM) and internal organellar membranes such as mitochondria-associated membrane (MAMs) and endoplasmic reticulum. Lipid rafts are implicated in numerous cellular processes such as signal transduction, membrane trafficking, and protein sorting.  Lipid-modified proteins and some transmembrane proteins are concentrated in the rafts while other proteins are excluded. Lipid rafts are also found to be associated with Na⁺/K⁺ ATPase on PM. Traditional methods for lipid raft isolation involve isolation of detergent-resistant membrane subdomain from total membranous structures, which does not distinguish plasma membrane-derived and/or organelle-derived lipid rafts. Using the patented spin-column-based technologies, we have developed this kit specifically for the isolation of plasma membrane-derived lipid rafts. Larger plasma membrane vesicles are first isolated and treated with a non-ionic detergent containing buffer followed by isolation of detergent-resistant fraction by flotation centrifugation using a tabletop microcentrifuge. Highly enriched plasma membrane-derived lipid rafts can be obtained in about 1 hour without using a traditional homogenizer and ultracentrifugation.

Invent Biotechnologies Minute^TM chloroplast isolation kit is composed of optimized chloroplast isolation buffers and filter cartridges with 2.0 ml collection tubes. The kit is designed to rapidly isolate intact chloroplasts from fresh plant tissues (leaves, seeds and soft stems etc.). Due to the use of filter cartridges with pre-defined pore size and thickness, intact chloroplasts can be isolated from 50-200 mg fresh plant tissues in less than 5 min. Unlike many other methods that require 1-10+ gram tissues for chloroplast isolation, this kit can quickly obtain 1 X 10⁶ to 1 X 10⁷ intact chloroplasts (>90% intact) from fresh plant leaves.

The Golgi apparatus, also known as the Golgi complex or Golgi body, consists of a series of flattened stacked pouches called cisternae. This organelle plays a crucial role in eukaryotic cells by facilitating the transportation, modification, and packaging of proteins and lipids into vesicles for delivery to specific locations. The quantity and distribution of Golgi vary significantly across different cell and tissue types. Obtaining a highly enriched Golgi fraction is a crucial initial step in the study of its function and interactions with other organelles.

Traditional methods for isolating the Golgi apparatus rely on density gradient ultracentrifugation, which demands a substantial amount of starting material and can be laborious and time-consuming. In contrast, the Minute™ kit distinguishes itself from other Golgi isolation kits by employing patented spin-column-based technology. This approach is both straightforward and rapid, requiring only a small amount of starting material. With this kit, native Golgi can be preferentially enriched through precipitation, eliminating the need for a Dounce homogenizer and ultracentrifugation. It enables the isolation of two sub-Golgi fractions: the Golgi apparatus and secretory vesicles of the Golgi.

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a significant membranous structure that bridges the nuclear membrane and the plasma membrane, serving as a pivotal player in the exocytic pathway of protein trafficking in all eukaryotic cells. Proteins synthesized in the cytoplasm are directed to the ER, from where vesicles transport protein cargo to the Golgi apparatus, leading to subsequent fusion with the plasma membrane.

Traditional ER isolation methods rely on density gradient ultracentrifugation, a process demanding a substantial amount of starting material. These methods can be laborious, time-consuming, and often result in notable cross-contamination. Remarkably, all existing commercial kits for ER isolation are based on techniques developed in the 1970s. In a departure from these traditional approaches, the Minute™ ER enrichment kit stands out in the market by harnessing patented spin-column-based technology. This innovative method is not only straightforward and rapid but also requires only a small quantity of starting cultured cells or tissues.

This kit excels at differentially precipitating native ER, primarily rough ER, from cultured cells and tissues, all without the need for a Dounce homogenizer or ultracentrifugation. The entire protocol can be completed in approximately two hours.