As a sample moves through an SEC column, smaller molecules enter the pores of the resin beads and take a longer, more winding path, while larger particles such as extracellular vesicles pass around the beads and exit the column sooner. This produces fractions ordered roughly by size, with the vesicle-containing fraction collected separately from free protein.
Ask which preparation method was used. A method name does not establish product identity or clinical effect.
For a buyer, SEC's role in a supplier's process is one more data point for the vendor qualification file. MISEV2023 recommends disclosing which isolation and purification steps were used in sequence, so a clinic has a basis for comparing one supplier's process description to another's.
These products are not FDA approved or licensed for any disease or condition. Information is for licensed healthcare professionals and is not medical or legal advice. Where a product involves exosomes, FDA has not approved any exosome product. Such products are generally regulated as biologic drugs under section 351, and purchase and clinical-use decisions belong to the physician and their regulatory counsel.
Understanding where SEC fits in a supplier's purification sequence helps a clinic interpret the purity claims on a lot's characterization documentation.