Support - Resources - FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Below, you can find a collection of some of our most frequently asked questions related to various different MACS® Applications. To help you find topics easily, questions and answers have been grouped by application.

If you can’t find an answer to your question, please feel free to also contact our Technical Support Team directly.

MACS® Technology for cell separation

What is MACS® Technology? 

Which labeling strategies are possible? 

Which separation strategies are possible? 

What are the most important parameters for magnetic labeling of cells with MACS® MicroBeads? 

Do MACS® MicroBeads need to be removed prior to downstream applications?

MACS® Columns for cell separation

Are all cells recovered from MACS® Columns?

Does the separation of cells over a MACS® Column influence the viability of the cells?

Which MACS® Column is used for which application?

Which MACS Columns are recommended for the isolation of untouched cells with MACS® Cell Isolation Kits?

What is the difference between LS Columns and LD Columns?

MACS Column names

Why are MACS® Columns designed as single use items for manual separations, while autoMACS™ Columns can be used several times?

Titration of antibodies for cell separation

Can a certain concentration of antibody be recommended for labeling of cells with a primary antibody?

How can the ideal concentration of an antibody for primary labeling be determined?

What happens if a suboptimal concentration of a primary antibody is used?

Why is it important to wash the cells after incubation with a primary antibody?

Isolation of hematopoietic progenitor cells

Is a flow cytometric purity evaluation of CD34+ or CD133+ cells, isolated with MACS® Technology, possible without removing the MicroBeads?

Do CD34 or CD133 MicroBeads interfere with proliferation and differentiation of hematopoietic cells in culture?

Can MACS® Technology be used for the isolation of CD34 subpopulations?

What starting materials can be used for isolation of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells with MACS® Technology?

Dendritic cell isolation

Which columns and magnets or separation program can be used with the Blood Dendritic Cell Isolation Kit II, human?

How can the purity of DCs isolated with the Blood Dendritic Cell Isolation Kit II, human be evaluated?

Is it recommended to generate DCs from CD14+ cells or from CD34+ cells?

Can CD14+ or CD34+ cells directly be taken into culture after isolation with MACS® Technology?

What is the frequency of dendritic cells (DC) in human peripheral blood and which cell numbers can be expected when using the Blood Dendritic Cell Isolation Kit II, human?

Tumor cell enrichment and detection

In which cases should CD45 MicroBeads, human, be used?

When should the Carcinoma Cell Enrichment (and Detection) Kits be used?

When should the CD326 (EpCAM) MicroBeads, human, be used - and when the CD326 (EpCAM) Tumor Cell Enrichment and Detection Kit, human?

Isolation of mouse cells

How is a mouse spleen cell preparation carried out?

How can dead cells be removed from a mouse spleen cell preparation?

Should EDTA be added to the buffers for mouse cell preparation?

Is a special sample preparation protocol required for mouse cells?

MACSelect™ Transfected Cell Selection

What are the differences between the three MACSelect™ Systems?

Can the MACSelect™ System only be used for enrichment of transiently transfected cells?

mRNA isolation and cDNA synthesis

What are the advantages of the µMACS™ One-step cDNA Kit compared to traditional cDNA synthesis methods?

Can further enzymatic reactions be performed in the µ Column, such as cDNA labeling?

How can very low amounts of mRNA be quantified?

How much mRNA can be isolated with the µMACS™ mRNA Isolation Kits?

Does total RNA have to be isolated beforehand?

Can µMACS™ mRNA Isolation Kits be used for bacteria?

MACSQuant® Analyzer

Which lasers are used in the MACSQuant® Analyzer optical bench?

What are the fluorescence sensitivities of the MACSQuant® Analyzer?

What is the error in absolute cell count? What is the dynamic range of sensitivity?

What type of sample tubes can I use?

How many events can be acquired on the MACSQuant® Analyzer?

At what speed can the MACSQuant® Analyzer analyze samples?

What is the minimum sample volume that can be analyzed by the MACSQuant Analyzer?

What are the dimensions of the flow cell?

What is the laser spot for the MACSQuant® Analyzer?

What is the carryover between samples? 

What are the specifications of the workstation?

What are the dimensions of the MACSQuant® Analyzer?

What are the optimal operating conditions?

What is the power usage of the MACSQuant® Analyzer?

What type of sheath fluid should I use?

Does Miltenyi Biotec offer flow cytometry analysis software?

How many logarithmic decades does the MACSQuantify™ Software display?

What is the signal resolution?

Does the MACSQuant® Analyzer display data in bi-exponential or hyperlog scale?

Cytokines and cell culture reagents

How do I reconstitute and store MACS Cytokines?

What is the biological activity of a cytokine?

How important is the biological activity?

Where can I find the biological activity of a MACS Cytokine?

How do I calculate the biological activity in U/mg from the ED50 values?

How do I know how many U/mL are available in a MACS Cytokine product after reconstitution?

My current protocol indicates a cytokine concentration in ng/mL. How do I convert it to U/mL?

How can I compare biological activities of products from different vendors?

How should I handle and store functional-grade antibodies?

What is the difference between a pure antibody and a pure functional-grade antibody?

What are common applications of biotin-conjugated functional-grade antibodies?

How can I get my antibody of interest in pure functional-grade format, if it is not listed here?

StemMACS™ iPS-Brew XF

Which matrices can I use with StemMACS™ iPS-Brew XF?

Which passaging method do you recommend?

What is the best way to transition my culture to StemMACS iPS-Brew XF?

I see spontaneous differentiation upon switching to StemMACS iPS-Brew XF. What can I do?

Colonies do not attach completely. What can I do?

Do I have to feed my culture every day?

How is StemMACS iPS-Brew XF different from other PSC culture media?

Can StemMACS iPS-Brew XF be used for suspension cultures?

Can cells grown in StemMACS iPS-Brew XF differentiate into all cell types?

When will StemMACS iPS-Brew become available in GMP-grade?

Which QC assays do you perform for StemMACS iPS-Brew XF?

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