Inside NutriEV’s new lab tech: The advanced tools driving our research 

At the heart of the NutriEV project lies a simple but powerful idea: food is much more than nutrients. Inside the plants we eat, whether raw, sprouted, or fermented, exist tiny natural nanoparticles called extracellular vesicles (EVs). These microscopic carriers may help our bodies communicate with the gut, the immune system, and even distant organs. Understanding how these vesicles work could transform the way we think about nutrition, digestion, and metabolic health. 

To explore this new frontier, scientists need tools capable of handling something so small and so delicate. The young researcher Yu-Hsin Chang plays a key role in the NutriEV project at the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), where she has been central to the development and optimisation of the laboratory technologies used to study food-derived extracellular vesicles: 

• the µPulse® Tangential Flow Filtration System, used to effciently isolate vesicles from plant materials, and 

• the Videodrop,  an advanced analytical interferometric instrument that allows measurement of the nanoparticles size and concentration in a single drop , a device Together, these instruments give our researchers the clarity, precision, and consistency needed to study food-derived vesicles in ways that were simply not possible before. 

The CNR team led by Gabriela Pocsfalvi is responsible for producing and analysing vesicles from raw and fermented foods, thereby creating high-quality material for use by the entire research team. The acquisition of these two instruments directly supports this mission.

From plants to purified vesicles: The role of the µPulse® system 

Imagine trying to extract something a thousand times smaller than a grain of pollen from a cloudy juice made of wheatgrass, berries, or beans. This is the daily challenge NutriEV scientists face. To do this without destroying the vesicles, they needed a system designed for gentle, precise filtration. 

The µPulse® Tangential Flow Filtration System is exactly that. It allows researchers to separate vesicles from plant juices while keeping them intact and biologically active. It works with very small or moderately large sample volumes and offers fine control over pressure and flow—important for handling fragile natural particles. 

This system is especially useful because: 

• It minimises sample loss, preserving different vesicles. 

• It allows buffer exchange—in simple terms, “cleaning” the vesicles so they can be studied in different environments. 

• It works with juices from raw plants as well as from fermented foods, where plant vesicles mix with bacterial ones. 

• It helps researchers prepare vesicles for later steps, such as glycan analysis or tests that mimic human digestion. 

In other words, the µPulse® system is the first essential step in giving our scientists clean, safe, and high-quality vesicle samples to work with. 

Tracking the invisible: The Videodrop  

The Videodrop system offers a breakthrough. Using a clever optical method that tracks the natural movement of nanoparticles in liquid, it allows researchers to define their concentration and size distribution using just a drop of their sample, without staining and complex preparation. Videodrop helps NutriEV by: 

• Measuring the size and concentration of vesicles in a sample for seconds – valuable tool to optimize the production and purification processes. Providing real time and in-process control of the samples – allowing buffer optimization and stability studies 

• Monitoring how vesicles change when exposed to digestive fluids, heat, or fermentation 

For example, the system can instantly show whether vesicles remain stable when mixed with stomach-like solutions—one of the key questions NutriEV seeks to answer. 

Because Videodrop only needs a few microlitres of liquid, researchers can analyse samples repeatedly throughout the preparation process without running out of material. This makes the whole project more sustainable and more precise. 

Why these tools matter for the future of nutrition 

By combining the strengths of these two technologies, NutriEV scientists can now: 

• Isolate food-derived vesicles with unprecedented care 

• Check their purity, size, and concentration in real time 

• Study how vesicles behave as they travel through the digestive system 

• Prepare samples for detailed molecular analysis, such as glycoproteomics 

• Provide high-quality vesicles to teams working on gut models, skin models, microbiome studies, and future diagnostic tools 

These advances support NutriEV’s broader ambition to understand how vesicles from food interact with our biology and how they might help prevent or manage metabolic disorders, including obesity and inflammation-related conditions. 

The project description emphasises the importance of analysing vesicles at a very high definition, including their protein and glycan structures, and understanding how they influence gut and immune function . Without the µPulse® and Videodrop systems, this level of precision would not be feasible. 

A step forward for precision nutrition 

Every major scientific journey begins with the right tools. By acquiring these two state-of-the-art systems, CNR has equipped the NutriEV project with the ability to look deeper into food than ever before. 

These technologies help us move from simply guessing how nutrition affects our bodies to truly seeing and measuring the microscopic messengers that may shape our metabolism, immunity, and wellbeing. 

This is more than equipment. It is an investment in a future where healthier diets, better diagnostics, and personalised nutrition become possible—not through supplements or trends, but through a deeper understanding of what nature already offers.