fig1

Figure 1. Overview of the tube comparison study design. (A) Outline of the experimental workflow comprising isolation of large EVs (lEVs) and small EVs (sEVs) via centrifugation, ultracentrifugation, size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and isolation of cell-free DNA (cfDNA). Evaluation of EDTA, Norgen, PAX, Streck DNA, Streck RNA, ACD, and Citrate tube performance after immediate processing (< 1 h) and long-term storage (7 days) via protein quantification, Western blot, nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA), liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), DNA quantification, and DNA fragment length analyses; (B) Summary of the study cohort illustrating the number of plasma samples collected from healthy individuals immediately after processing and after long-term storage in EDTA, Norgen, PAX, Streck DNA, Streck RNA, ACD, and Citrate for comparison of tube performances with hemolysis measurements (red), EV characterization (blue and green), and cfDNA analysis (yellow), including concentration and cfDNA purity. The numbers indicate replicates per condition. EVs: Extracellular vesicles.