Cell Separation Techniques

Synonyms

Cell sorting, selection, isolation, enrichment, depletion.

Short Description

This essay focuses on ex vivo and in vitro cell separation methods in the field of immunology and haematology. It does not include methods for in vivo depletion of certain cell types, for example by antibody treatment or in animal models-in particular in mice-by gene targeting.

The aim of cell separation methods is to create defined compositions of cells starting from a heterogeneous cell population for:

• ex vivo or in vitro analysis (e.g. for phenotypic, functional, biochemical or genetic analysis)

• in vivo analysis (after adoptive transfer)

• cellular therapy

• other purposes, like immunisation or generation of cell lines.

In general there are different possible strategies to create defined compositions of cells:

• positive enrichment of target cells is the most direct way to isolate target cells and typically gives best purity and recovery; however, if positive selection is not feasible (e.g. because...