Magnetic Separation

Magnetic separation may have seen its first use in biological applications as early as the 1970s. The technique, which uses natural or induced magnetic properties, relies on the use of magnetic beads. These spherical particles contain an iron core onto which various substances can be coated with various ligands with binding affinities, such as streptavidin, binding proteins, and antibodies. Magnetic separation can thus be used to purify or isolate biological compounds from a more complex mixture. This includes cleaning up nucleic acids in preparation for sequencing, purifying proteins and antibodies from cell lysates, and isolating specific cell types from blood and other media. It has also previously been used in the diagnostic detection of bacteria and viruses from the blood. This process offers advantages, such as minimal sample contact, low cost, and biologically non-invasive. Browse our catalog of magnetic separation tools listed by various suppliers.