Magnetic cell separation products and tools for viral research

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise globally, pressure is increasing on researchers for fast advances in diagnosis, treatment, and vaccination options. This makes standardization and reproducibility of relevant experiments more crucial than ever. MACS® Cell Separation products have been used for decades in virology research, where their high degree of automation helps keep scientists safe.  

Magnetic immune cell subset isolation for virology research

Isolated immune cell subsets can be used to study T cell immune response to a viral infection, isolate B cells from immunized animals in vaccine research, or monitor cell-mediated immunity in recovered patients. Of course, assays are only as reliable as their components, hence the need for highly pure and viable cell subsets for co-stimulation assays, killing assays, and genomic analyses. Miltenyi Biotec offers magnetic cell isolation products for direct as well as untouched immune cell isolation from human, mouse, and non-human primate-derived tissues and blood products.  

Isolating cell subsets from tissue samples can be complex, but combining the gentleMACS™ Dissociator with MACS MicroBeads gives unmatched purity and viability, which can be further enhanced using the Dead Cell Removal Kit.  

Indirect MicroBeads, such as anti-biotin MicroBeads, are useful when working with novel markers for which direct cell isolation products are not available.  

Related PDFs:

Check out our brochures on T cells, NK cells, dendritic cells, and B cells:

Fast cell isolation from blood products without density gradient centrifugation

Density-gradient centrifugation is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and the results vary depending on the user. 

In order to skip this process and free up more time for other essential tasks, Miltenyi Biotec offers the StraightFrom MicroBead portfolio for Ficoll-free options for cell isolation from various human blood products. 

Related videos:

Watch this short video on how to isolate cells straight from blood using the MultiMACS Cell24 Separator.

Reduced exposure to infectious or compromised material with automation

Minimizing exposure to potentially contaminated samples is critical for scientists’ safety, and fully automated workflows allow precious time in the lab to be spent on other tasks. 
 

The autoMACS® Pro Separator is a fully automated magnetic cell separator that isolates cells from up to six whole blood, PBMC, or dissociated tissue samples in one run, and fits into a standard laminar flow hood. 

For high-throughput cell isolations we recommend the MultiMACS™ Instrument Family, which allows magnetic cell isolation from up to 24 samples simultaneously, as well as processing of large blood samples, such as buffy coats, without the use of density gradient centrifugation. 
 

The MultiMACS Cell24 Separator Plus is a small benchtop device, whereas the MultiMACS X is a fully automated instrument for routine high-throughput sample processing. 

Related videos:

Watch how cell isolation on the autoMACS Pro Separator works.

Relevant publications using MACS Cell Separation:

  • CD8+ T Cells Responding to the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Nucleocapsid Protein Delivered by Vaccinia Virus MVA in Mice; Veit et al. (2018) Viruses 16:10(12); (PMID: 30558354)
  • The coronavirus macrodomain is required to prevent PARP-mediated inhibition of virus replication and enhancement of IFN expression; Grunewald, M. E. et al. (2019) PLOS Pathogens;  (PMID: 31095648)
  • Antibody-dependent enhancement of SARS coronavirus infection and its role in the pathogenesis of SARS; Yip, M. S. et al. (2016) Hong Kong Med. J. 22: (3 Suppl. 4): 25–31; (PMID: 27390007)
  • The MHC class-II HLA-DR receptor mediates bat influenza A-like H17N10 virus entry into mammalian cells;  Giotis, E. S. et al. (2019); (PMID: 31358984)
  • Requirement for memory B-cell activation in protection from heterologous influenza virus reinfection; Leach, S. et al. (2019) Int. Immunol. 31(12): 771–779; (PMID: 31231764)
  • Single dose combination nanovaccine provides protection against influenza A virus in young and aged mice; Ross, K. et al. (2019) Biomater Sci. 7(3): 809–821; (PMID: 30663733)
  • Measles Vaccines Designed for Enhanced CD8+ T Cell Activation; Busch, E. et al. (2020) Viruses 12(2); (PMID: 32098134)

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