The Good
Efficient myelin removal from adult mouse brain preparations, straightforward integration into the Miltenyi magnetic separation workflow, and good compatibility with subsequent ACSA-2–based astrocyte isolation.
The Bad
The major drawback is the short remaining shelf life upon delivery. We received the 4 mL bottle with only about two months remaining before the expiration date. Because only a small amount is needed for each isolation, it can be difficult to use the entire bottle before it expires, resulting in considerable reagent waste.
The Bottom Line
Myelin Isolation Beads are a useful and effective reagent for preparing adult mouse brain cell suspensions for subsequent immunomagnetic cell isolation. They integrate well into our ACSA-2 astrocyte isolation workflow and help produce clean preparations suitable for downstream molecular analyses. The main limitation in our experience was the very short remaining shelf life of the 4 mL bottle upon delivery, which should be considered when planning experiments and choosing how much reagent to order.