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. Once the RBCs have been depleted, the resulting blood product can be used across many …

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 …

October 2021 Share

Mouse B Cell Enrichment: How to Culture Isolated Mouse B Cells The primary function of B cells is antibody production. They are called B cells because they mature in the bone marrow, while T cells mature in the thymus. Receptors on the surface of a B cell bind to foreign antigens and develop antibodies that suppress that specific pathogen. Understanding more about how B cells work can provide insight into …

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 …

August 2021 Share

Use of Akadeum’s gentle and effective Human CD4+ T Cell Isolation Kit results in a highly enriched sample of human CD4+ T cells, enabling detection and isolation of low-abundance, antigen-specific CD4+ T cells in patient samples. A research group led by Professor Georg Lauer at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Harvard Medical School recently used Akadeum’s Human CD4+ T Cell Isolation Kit to obtain high purity enrichment of viable, healthy …

May 2021 By Dominique Badea, PhD Share

Over the past few decades, technologies like flow cytometry and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) have revolutionized our understanding and manipulation of cell populations. Since their inception, there have been significant advancements and applications, from clinical diagnosis to biomedical research, propelling a new era of cellular analysis and handling. The terms flow cytometry and FACS are often used interchangeably. However, this is not accurate. Namely, FACS is a subtype of flow …

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 …