Blog

December 2021 Share

Antigens are molecules present on the surface of cells that bind to receptors on antibodies or on the surface of lymphocytes. Antigens are classified based on where they originate, and the immune system discriminates between native and foreign antigens in order to fight against pathogens. Immunology research utilizes the binding properties of antigens with antibodies in order to detect, track, and isolate specific cell populations within blood samples. Self vs …

December 2021 Share

In working with biological samples for life science research, sample preparation is a critical first step to isolate the specific cells of interest from a complex mixture. This is especially true when looking to isolate rare cells of low abundance, and it is critically important when working with delicate cell types that the sample preparation method used for cell isolation is exceptionally gentle so that it does not interfere with …

November 2021 Share

Sample preparation is often a critical first step in any number of life science workflows. Due to the inherent complexity within samples and diversity between applications, sample preparation needs can vary widely. One common first step is a “cleanup” step to deplete residual red blood cells (RBCs) from the sample before proceeding with downstream analysis. How Does RBC Depletion Work? Red blood cell depletion is a method of selection that …

November 2021 Share

High Throughput Human T Cell Enrichment The field of immunological research is continuously expanding. More and more things are being discovered on a cellular and molecular level. Cell separation and enrichment has become an integral part of studying our immune cell behaviors. One of the most significant challenges in the research community has been finding a high throughput T cell enrichment method that can be used to isolate high volumes …

September 2021 Share

The stages of cell death vary depending on the way in which a cell dies. When discussing cell death, there are two main types: apoptosis and necrosis. Each of these involves a unique process and has different effects on the rest of the body. What is Cell Apoptosis? Programmed cell death is called apoptosis, a regular growth, and development mechanism within an organism. This process is also known as “cellular …

September 2021 Share

The human immune system is made up of many different cells–some of which are responsible for identifying unfamiliar pathogens, some of which recognize familiar pathogens, and some that attack anything harmful to the host. There are many moving parts that must cooperate to properly defend against foreign particles and diseases. These interactions between cells and pathogens are maintained and controlled by specialized lymphocytes called regulatory T cells. What Are Regulatory …

May 2021 Share

FACS vs. Flow Cytometry As medical research becomes more advanced, scientists must use more complex technology to identify, separate, and prepare cells for downstream applications. Two popular methods for this include flow cytometry and fluorescence activated cell sorting. In the field of cell sorting and analysis, the terms flow cytometry and fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) are often used interchangeably. While each harness light scattering techniques and flowing cell samples …

May 2021 Share

CTC Separation When a cancerous tumor is present in the human body, some of the tumor cells can be shed into blood or lymph vessels, where they travel through the bloodstream alone or in clusters. These cells are called circulating tumor cells (CTCs). Scientists can collect these cells for research purposes through a process called CTC separation. CTC separation is the process of CTC isolation from whole blood samples. Residual …

April 2021 Share

Spleen Cell Isolation Just as a gold mine has different areas with higher concentrations of gold, different parts of the body have different levels of T cells. In a mouse, the spleen cell culture is composed of around 100 million splenocytes. Splenocytes are mononuclear white blood cells (WBCs) derived from or situated in the spleen. T cells typically comprise roughly 25% of the total splenocyte population. While murine (relating to …

April 2021 Share

What are CD4 Cells? The human immune system is broken down into two major categories: the innate immune system and the adaptive immune system. The innate immune system is comprised of different physical, chemical, and cellular responses to pathogens that jump into action, offering general and non-specific first line defense when the immune system is called to act in an effort to contain the spread of pathogens. The adaptive immune …