Designing and Manufacturing Magnetic Cell Separation Device from Liquid Environment with High Performance

Separation of molecules and cells using magnetic force is very simple, fast, efficient and low cost method in medical laboratory and research activities. The usage of this separation contributes to the quality of studies and related calculations in the field of laboratory sciences and researches.
Methods and Materials: In the present study, we managed to make an optimal device for biological separations and cell sorting activities based on magnetic field. Two strong permanent magnets were devised inside a fiber glass body in a certain distance. Several spaces were created around the magnets for different kinds of sample containers such as injection syringes with different capacities from 2 to 20 ml in each container. The ability of isolation, concentration and purification of materials, and the ability of detection or study of molecular and cellular interaction has been provided by applying a magnetic field about 1.5 Tesela. Small iron beads covered by an inert polyester coating were prepared to be replaced in the containers for more efficient separation in very low concentrations.
To evaluate the performance and demonstrate the neutrality of veneer, a certain weight of the coating material were placed in usual solvents vicinity. Moreover, the coating material was evaluated in terms of weight changes. Increasing or decreasing of weight and changing in the veneer material were not observed in test conditions. TLC test was used for determining the possibility of remaining materials from the veneer to the fluid environment. This test proved that the veneer materials cannot penetrate to the testing environment. Various activities were taken to evaluate the efficiency of nanoparticles separation. First, very low concentrations of magnetic nanoparticles have been isolated by using this device frequently. Second, accumulative weight of nanoparticles was separated by measurement. Finally, the accuracy of separation was confirmed. Cell separation device performance was performed by isolating Lymphocytes from monocytes in peripheral blood using super paramagnetic iron nanoparticles conjugated with anti-CD14 antibody. Moreover, the accuracy of operations were determined and proven by identifying Lymphocytes and cell viability using Trypan blue.
Discussion and This equipment is qualified for various separation activities in biological samples such as biomarkers from blood or serum in the medical diagnosis laboratories and research units.