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Cell Enrichment for Immunology Workflows

Updated on Sep 27, 2024 Share

Microbubbles: A New Approach to Immune Cell Separation & Enrichment

Are you running into barriers and limitations caused by inadequate sample preparation using outdated technology and workflows?

Stop Losing Your Precious Samples to Magnetic Processes!

Akadeum’s microbubble approach to immune cell enrichment aims to maximize yield, reduce processing time, and maintain the health and physiology of immune cells. And we do all of this while eliminating the need for extra equipment like magnets and columns using a fast, easy workflow that takes place directly in the sample container – no extraneous pour-offs, no exposing delicate cells to external forces or rare earth magnets, no harsh chemicals.

Simply mix our microbubbles directly into your sample, allow them to float to the surface, then aspirate away the microbubble layer. It’s self-separation in a single container! You’re left with a highly-enriched population of happy, healthy immune cells for downstream use.

Microbubble Kits for Immunology

Our microbubble kits are exceptionally gentle on delicate immune cells, allowing for fast and easy high throughput human cell enrichment that is designed to maximize yield and contribute to reliable, consistent results each and every time.

Immunology Kits for Mouse Immune Cell Research

Immunology Kits for Human Immune Cell Research

Meet Akadeum’s Microbubble Technology

Inadequate Sample Preparation is Harmful and Costly

Inadequate sample preparation is both harmful and costly. Most biological workflows require a sample preparation step to isolate the target of interest before downstream testing or processing can occur, but current technologies have failed to meet the needs of evolving diagnostic and therapeutic industries – and this shortcoming has a negative impact on healthcare costs and results.

Akadeum has Risen to Meet this Need

We are a global leader in buoyancy-based technology and are applying this capability to improve sample preparation across a wide range of industries and applications.

Akadeum’s Innovative, Buoyant Approach

At Akadeum Life Sciences, we have developed a revolutionary approach to sample preparation that uses our proprietary, buoyant microbubble technology to quickly and easily enrich your sample for the immune cells of interest while maintaining target cell health and physiology. It’s science so simple, it floats!

Buoyancy Activated Cell Sorting (BACS™), Akadeum’s patented approach to separation, offers a novel way to isolate the target cells of interest by functionalizing tiny floating particles we call “microbubbles.” We then develop the protocols and devices to put our microbubbles to work!

Our technology combines the specificity of affinity molecules such as antibodies with the power of gravity in a workflow that’s fast, easy, and effective while being exceptionally gentle on delicate targets, like rare immune cells of low abundance. Learn more about cell sorting.

What are Microbubbles?

Akadeum’s microbubbles are small, solid particles that float. The core of each microbubble is a hollow microsphere that allows immunology researchers to leverage the power of gravity for quick and gentle removal of captured targets from a complex fluidic mixture.

Microbubbles under the microscope (right) and bound to a human monocyte (left)

Akadeum’s microbubbles are strong and stable, and are able to float in water, phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), culture media, biological fluids, and other aqueous laboratory solutions. Their density endows them with the power to lift multiple cells per microbubble, gently so as to minimize shear forces on delicate cells.

How do Microbubbles Work?

Akadeum’s microbubbles are gently mixed into the sample where they engage their targets before isolating those targets through floatation-based separation. It’s that simple! This fast and easy workflow can take place directly in the sample container. We’ve taken technology that traditionally requires additional equipment to accomplish this separation and put it into a single container where it’s self-separating.

Elegant in Simplicity, Powerful in Application.

Our buoyant approach to separation eliminates many of the existing hurdles that are limiting improvements or effectiveness of processes today. Unlike with magnetic bead-based separation, microbubbles do not have the same volume and equipment restrictions.

No Magnet. No Column. No Limitations.

Akadeum’s revolutionary microbubble approach takes only minutes to complete and requires no additional equipment to perform. That’s right – no magnets, no columns, no limitations.

Enrichment is performed directly in the sample container, eliminating the need for harsh chemicals, external magnetic forces, and the use of rare earth magnets. Our microbubbles harness the power of gravity (they float!) for separation, maintaining immune cell health and physiology during enrichment and resulting in an incredibly pure population of rare and delicate immune cells for downstream applications.

Experience the Benefits of a Microbubble Workflow

Akadeum’s Microbubbles are:

Efficient: The higher throughput of a microbubble workflow can increase capacity as much as 10x compared to other technologies.
Compatible: Microbubble separation requires no extra equipment to perform and is compatible with nearly any downstream processing or application.
Gentle: Microbubbles are exceptionally gentle, maintaining cell health and physiology while maximizing retention of rare immune cells.
Scalable: Using microbubbles for sample preparation and cell enrichment allows for interrogation of larger volumes while also delivering increased sensitivity. Microbubbles also enable processing of multiple samples concurrently.

Microbubbles vs. Magnetics

Akadeum’s next-generation technology overcomes long-standing headaches with traditional sample preparation like magnetic bead-based separation. Akadeum’s microbubbles are equipment-free and can enable both low-volume and large-volume separations. Our sensitive and specific microbubbles enable effective capture of targets of low abundance while eliminating issues with non-specific binding. Critically, the microbubble workflow is exceptionally gentle, which is especially valuable when enriching for delicate targets that can be damaged or lost using older technology like magnetics. With microbubbles, throughput is not limited by access to expensive, specialized equipment which enables sample preparation that can be done at scale.

Explore Akadeum’s Immunology Microbubble Kits for Immune Cell Enrichment

Our microbubble kits are exceptionally gentle on delicate immune cells, allowing for fast and easy immune cell enrichment that is designed to maximize yield and contribute to reliable, consistent results each and every time.

Immunology Kits for Mouse Immune Cell Research

Immunology Kits for Human Immune Cell Research