Blog

Updated on Apr 7, 2025 Share

Dead cells naturally contaminate cell samples or cultures throughout their lifespan; this contamination can occur at any time. While common, dead cells and debris negatively affect cell populations before and after separation, isolation, and application. Removing dead cells and debris before further processing plays a critical role in culture maintenance and adherence to good laboratory practices. Cell Culturing and Dead Cells Researchers grow cell cultures in the laboratory that can …

Updated on Dec 9, 2024 By Brandon H. McNaughton, PhD Share

What Is a Customized Leukopak? A leukopak is a blood product enriched with white blood cells obtained through a unique extraction technique, leukapheresis. Leukapheresis, a specialized application of apheresis, targets the collection of leukocytes and returns all non-leukocyte material to the donor’s bloodstream.  Leukopaks can be customized to fit the requirements of their intended application, both clinically and for research and development. Before leukopak collection, donors are strategically selected for …

Updated on Apr 7, 2025 Share

Sample processing techniques like cell separation can potentially damage cells of interest and even decrease cell viability. Removing these dead cells before further clinical or research testing is important to reducing confounding downstream testing and results.  In the case of leukopak processing, dead cell removal remains an integral step in preparing pure and high-quality cell populations. If dead cells are not properly removed from a sample, they can release toxins …

Updated on Apr 7, 2025 Share

Cell washing is a crucial technique used in both clinical and research settings for various biomedical applications. When trying to produce a pure, isolated population of cells via leukopak processing, cell washing is typically the first step. It removes unwanted cells and other contaminating material, such as proteins and platelets, leaving the apheresis product ready for high-precision cell separation. This enables the isolation of a pure population of cells, which …

Updated on Apr 7, 2025 Share

The removal of dead cells from a cell sample is a critical component of cell separation and purification that can significantly improve the quality and purity of the final product. As techniques for cell separation continue to evolve, researchers are constantly seeking ways to improve efficiency.  If left unremoved, dead cells tend to release cellular debris, which may lead to erroneous results and contamination of the final product. That’s why …

Updated on Apr 7, 2025 Share

What Is Counterflow Centrifugation Elutriation? Centrifuges are one of the most commonly utilized laboratory instruments, applicable for cell separation, purification, and harvesting. Counterflow centrifugation elutriation (CCE) is a liquid clarification technique that separates cells suspended in a solution by size and stage. This process operates based on the differing sedimentation rates of cells or particles of different sizes in a liquid medium under centrifugal force.  CCE is a valuable method …

Updated on Dec 9, 2024 Share

What Is Apoptosis? Cell death is a natural and normal part of the human body’s maintenance mechanisms. Apoptosis means the steady process of programmed cell death that occurs to aid in the body’s growth and development.  Apoptosis regulates the life and death of cells, which affects several body processes like cell turnover, growth, immune functioning, hormone distribution, and hormone atrophy. Cell survival or death directly impacts the immune system’s population …

Updated on Mar 28, 2025 Share

What Is a Cell Growth Factor? Cells grow in size as they move through the cell cycle toward eventual mitosis and cytokinesis, or cell division. To move from one stage of cell growth to the next, cells require the stimulation of surface receptors to pass entry checkpoints at each phase of the cell cycle. These signals come from cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK) and their cyclin components.  Growth factors are an extracellular …

Updated on May 14, 2025 Share

During a potential infection, the immune system relies on accurate and robust cellular activation and expansion. The massive release of activated effector cells can lead to major inflammation. Although this inflammation is necessary to quell the potential infection, the immune system provides safeguards against uncontrolled inflammation to protect the host from damage.  The immune system implements checkpoints and controls to manage the number of active T cells and inflammation during …

Updated on Dec 9, 2024 Share

What Is T Cell Transduction? The recent development of adoptive cell therapies that specifically and effectively target cancer cells has transformed the field of oncology and the pharmaceutical industry. Early treatments focus on the autologous transfer of a patient’s own cells that have been modified to target their cancer, but newer allogeneic therapies, the transfer of modified cells from a healthy donor, have significant benefits. Modified cells are more readily …