With its pioneering fluorescent technology, Acoerela is not just revolutionising exosome research, it’s lighting the path for future breakthroughs in diagnostics and the understanding of diseases.
If cells could talk, exosomes would be their language. These humble messengers—tiny sacs released by cells into the bloodstream—carry encrypted messages in the form of proteins, DNA and RNA. Ferrying molecules and crucial information from cell to cell, exosomes are thought to orchestrate a symphony of key bodily processes, including immune responses and disease development.
Their significance spans beyond simple couriers. When exosomes crosstalk, a multitude of diseases can arise, from cancers to pathogenic infections to neurodegenerative disorders.
Studying these tiny couriers is crucial to unlocking new frontiers in disease diagnostics and therapy. Acting as natural “cargo carriers”, exosomes also hold the potential to serve as vehicles for drug delivery, playing pivotal roles in vaccine development—covertly delivering their payload where needed most.
Yet, their extremely small size and complex composition, together with interference from other biological particles, have long challenged accurate detection and analysis.
Illuminating cellular couriers
Acoerela—a burgeoning spin-off from the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Institute for Functional Intelligent Materials (I-FIM), a Research Centre of Excellence and the world’s first institution dedicated to the design, synthesis, and application of FIMs—holds the key to such conundrums.
The company’s answer is conjugated oligoelectrolytes (COEs). Borne of research spearheaded by Professor Guillermo Bazan, a principal investigator at I-FIM and Acoerela’s scientific advisor, these fluorescent dye molecules have an unusual knack for nestling into lipid bilayers—the ‘skin’ of an exosome—and lighting it up with remarkable specificity.
The company’s name, Acoerela, embodies its innovative spirit. The name draws from the Spanish word acuarela, meaning watercolour. By substituting cua with coe, the name fittingly echoes the water-soluble nature of the COE dyes, showcasing the creativity and thought that permeates every facet of the team’s work.
The elegance of Acoerela’s approach lies in its simplicity. As Prof Bazan explained, “Our dye molecules have a fondness for not just water-repelling substances but also water itself. This combination of physical properties gives them the functionality to easily integrate into lipid bilayers without clumping together in water—a radical shift in design that makes them biocompatible and accurate hence, highly appealing for nanoparticle-based research.”
Crucially, these properties enable the dye molecules to sidestep the common issues plaguing other methods, including traditional gold-standard techniques, that are used to detect nano-sized exosomes.
The dyes are not just cosmetic improvements—they are fundamentally new intelligent materials. Their novel design permits them to span the full depth of the lipid bilayer, a feat that no other dye has achieved. In comparison to classic dyes used in life science, Acoerela dyes do not give false positives—they are intelligent molecules that only light up when the dye finds an exosome.
Acoerela’s rapid rise and broadening vision
Since its launch in February 2023, Acoerela’s dyes have found their way into over 50 research laboratories across the globe, generating an impressive five-figure revenue from direct sales in this very short period.
This swift adoption demonstrates the real-world value of Acoerela’s technology in exosome research. Moreover, the company has inked distribution deals covering the Asia-Pacific region and is actively seeking partners to expand its reach into North America and Europe.
Yet, while the dyes have quickly gained traction among academic researchers and diagnostic and therapeutic companies alike, Acoerela has set its sights beyond merely providing a tool for exosome detection.
According to chief executive officer Dr Bay Sie Lim, the company aspires to partner with imaging giants, biopharma companies, as well as academic institutions engaged in lipid membrane research, and is now actively engaging with distributors, suppliers and manufacturers to broaden its reach. “We believe that Acoerela dyes can play a wider role in research and diagnostics,” Dr Lim said.
Looking ahead, the company anticipates a rising demand for its products, supported by growing interest in exosomes for personalised medicine and the projected growth in the global fluorescent dye and exosome manufacturing markets. Together, co-founders Lim, and Bazan aim to carve out a niche for themselves, riding on this wave of interest and cementing Acoerela’s place in the growing exosome field.
Navigating competition and collaborative innovation
As with any nascent technology, competition from established players is expected. But Acoerela is dedicated to continuous innovation to stay ahead of the curve. Its palette of optical reporters is also anticipated to play an important role in other imaging technologies, such as tracking microscopic particles in animal studies or rapidly screening the efficacy of new cancer treatments. For Acoerela, enabling exosome research is only the start.
From bench to bedside and beyond, the journey is fraught with hurdles—requiring diligent validation, further R&D, and strategic partnerships to harness the technology’s full potential. The team recently struck an agreement with NUS to leverage the university’s advanced infrastructure and equipment to accelerate our research and workflows.
Acoerela’s journey, rooted in Professor Bazan’s original research, is a powerful testament to the unanticipated societal benefits and translational power of fundamental science.
Acoerela invites further collaborations, embracing continuous innovation and scaling efforts to light up the future of cellular communication—one exosome at a time.