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September 2020 Share

Ah, the wonders of the immune system. It is undeniably powerful, protecting the body from a wide range of pathogens. At the same time, it must also avoid harming the body through excessive reactions to non-harmful materials. The immune system has the ability to recognize which molecules are produced by the body and which are not. Then, it can attack foreign invaders while avoiding self-produced antigens. When functioning properly, this …

August 2020 Share

If you are studying the immune system, you have likely encountered naïve cells. Naïve T and naïve B cells are key pieces of the immune system, part of the continuous process that allows lymphocytes to fight off bacteria, infections, and diseases. As part of your research, there may come a time when you need to isolate a naïve T cell or naïve B cell population from the rest of the …

April 2020 Share

The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted a need for fast and accurate methods for identifying RNA viruses through nucleic acid capture and detection. Akadeum Life Sciences is up to the challenge. In a relatively short time, the coronavirus pandemic has spread across the globe. This novel virus was first noted in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and arrived in the United States in January 2020. The World Health Organization (WHO) called …

March 2020 Share

Blood Separation Techniques: How Is Plasma Separated From Blood? Each blood cell type has its own unique purpose and function and separating the various blood components allows scientists to analyze specific cell types. For example, human leukocytes can be used to study immunological functions such as cytokine production and surface marker expression. Other blood components can be used to detect diseases. Once separated, blood cells can be further isolated into …

February 2016 Share

Can microbubbles be pelleted by centrifugation? In short, no. At least, not a pellet that you would see at the bottom of your tube when you spin down cells. Here’s how it works.

February 2016 Share

We hear this question all the time: How many cells can a microbubble lift? For many users, the most important questions around microbubble-based separation have to do with how many microbubbles to add to a sample. Answering this question requires getting into the total lifting capacity of a microbubble. Part of the answer derives from how a microbubble engages cells, clumps of cells, or even larger structures such as spheroids …