LifeSep™ FAQs

1. Are there any printed resources that will tell me more about biomagnetic separation?
2. Can the MCB 1200 help where availability of skilled lab technicians is an issue?
3. For what tube sizes (or platforms) does Dexter Magnetic Technologies supply magnetic separation units?
4. How can the MCB 1200 help reduce my current sample backlog?
5. I have a unique tube for an automated piece of equipment. Can Dexter Magnetic Technologies provide a customized size of equipment?
6. Is it possible to recover the nucleic acid in a very small volume of 20 µl or less?
7. To improve my yield or to make certain of isolating the protein of interest, why wouldn't I just keep adding more beads?
8. To what degree can I expect the MCB 1200 to improve purity and yield?
9. What are the advantages of DMT's patented technology in the LifeSep™ 96F and LifeSep™ 384F plate separators?
10. What form of reliability testing was performed on the MCB 1200?
11. What is the maximum volume of wash buffer that can be applied without contaminating the lid of the 1.5 mL tube?
12. What kind of protocols can be run, and what are the parameters that can be adjusted?
13. What size of particles can effectively be separated?
14. Why should I purchase my products from Dexter Magnetic Technologies?
15. Will the MCB 1200 help reduce my reagent and bead costs?
16. With a very small volume of sample, can the MCB 1200 still be used?

1. Are there any printed resources that will tell me more about biomagnetic separation?
   Two good printed resource materials are Advances in Biomagnetic Separation published by Eaton Publishing, ISBN 1881-299-0105 and Magnetic Separation Techniques Applied to Cellular and Molecular Biology published by Wordsmiths Conference Publications, ISBN 0 9518459 0 X.
     
2. Can the MCB 1200 help where availability of skilled lab technicians is an issue?
   Protocols using magnetic beads, particularly for DNA isolation, call for a great deal of skill and experience. Tube handling, repeated washing of the magnetic beads and final elution of bead-free samples takes practice, without which the chance of a failed sample is high. Directions for using the MCB 1200 are very straightforward, and it has been demonstrated that someone with little or no experience in the biotech area can be correctly utilizing the unit in a very short time. Beginners can quickly begin performing consistent and reproducible isolations, 12 at a time, leaving skilled personnel available for more complicated upstream processing activities.
     
3. For what tube sizes (or platforms) does Dexter Magnetic Technologies supply magnetic separation units?
   DMT's line of optimized magnetic separators is designed for the most widely used tube sizes and platforms including 1.5 mL and 2 mL sizes through larger 15 mL and 50 mL tubes. For performing rapid separations on a larger scale or using automated robotic equipment, DMT provides separation solutions for 96, 384 and 1536 well trays.
     
4. How can the MCB 1200 help reduce my current sample backlog?
   Existing magnetic bead protocols using conventional static magnetic racks, with multiple washing and capture steps, can take up to one to two hours to perform. With limited resources and the need to handle increasing numbers of samples, a backlog can quickly build. The MCB 1200 offers advanced biomagnetic processing for fast and efficient isolations. Mixing and separation are incorporated into one unit saving transfer time back and forth between multiple pieces of equipment. The MCB 1200 is simple to operate and can process up to 12 tubes simultaneously.
     
5. I have a unique tube for an automated piece of equipment. Can Dexter Magnetic Technologies provide a customized size of equipment?
   While Dexter's line of optimized magnetic separation products provides an immediate starting point for performing rapid separation in single tubes and through 96, 384 and 1536 well trays, we welcome the opportunity to work on custom solutions. Technology and resources are available to provide designs that provide improved rates of magnetic separation, reduced cycle time and maximized yield.
     
6. Is it possible to recover the nucleic acid in a very small volume of 20 µl or less?
   Nucleic acid from 20 µl using 200 µl PCR tubes may be recovered. However, the MCB 1200 is configured for use with 1.2-1.5ml Eppendorf type of microcentrifuge tubes and therefore the tube holder would need to be modified. In the current configuration, total test volume below 50 µl is not recommended. For processing such small volumes, an instrument for the 96 well microtiterplate format may be more suitable.
     
7. To improve my yield or to make certain of isolating the protein of interest, why wouldn't I just keep adding more beads?
   While adding more beads to a sample may increase the chance of affinity binding of beads to target, the overall process may suffer because of it. Too many beads loaded into too small a sample may result in a slurry-like suspension. Diluting in a larger tube may help although this will introduce problems with elution and with the sample being lost on the tube walls. Cost may also become prohibitive. The MCB 1200, with its MixSep™ technology, helps immediately increase the opportunity for successful affinity binding of bead to target. Higher yields and improved specificity are, therefore, possible without additional beads and without the need to change to larger tube sizes.
     
8. To what degree can I expect the MCB 1200 to improve purity and yield?
   Even the gentlest conventional mixing techniques introduce fluid shear in the sample. The process currently employed in biomagnetic separation is based on agitation of the medium in some manner. Agitation by end-over-end rotation is generally preferred to minimize fluid shear, but this greatly reduces the length and quality of the targeted DNA fragment. Such mixing can also significantly decrease the collision frequency between target species and beads. The MCB 1200, using MixSep™ technology, has successfully addressed the problem of fluid shear. Magnetic mixing is based on a rotating magnetic field that mixes particles without shaking or stirring. Magnetic mixing eliminates hydrodynamic shear and increases the rate of collision between affinity surfaces of the particle and the target species.
     
9. What are the advantages of DMT's patented technology in the LifeSep™ 96F and LifeSep™ 384F plate separators?
   The magnet arrangement incorporated into these two products produces the necessary optimized field gradient and magnetic profile for rapid and, most importantly, uniform separation.
   
10. What form of reliability testing was performed on the MCB 1200?
    Each MCB 1200 unit undergoes rigorous test for mechanical movements, electronic controls and magnetic field with regard to mixing of magnetic particles in the test volume range of 50-200 µl. The instrument is sold with a warranty to be free of defects in material and workmanship for a period of twelve months from the date of purchase.
      
11. What is the maximum volume of wash buffer that can be applied without contaminating the lid of the 1.5 mL tube?
    In the MixSep process the test medium remains motionless and hence you may use up to 1000 µl-1300 µl of wash buffer without contaminating the lid of a 1.5 mL tube.
       
12. What kind of protocols can be run, and what are the parameters that can be adjusted?
    The MCB 1200 is a processing platform and can be used for any isolation or purification, which is based on suepr-parmagnetic particles or beads. It can be used to isolate/purify nucleic acids, proteins and immunoassays.
        
13. What size of particles can effectively be separated?
    LifeSep™ and MixSep™ magnetic bead separators and products are designed to work with most commercially available superparamagnetic beads, roughly 0.8 microns in size and above. Smaller beads can be used, but it is important to ensure that the size distribution of the beads is narrow and the magnetic mass susceptibility is adequate.
      
14. Why should I purchase my products from Dexter Magnetic Technologies?
    Protocols have been developed by the leading bead suppliers for immunomagnetic separation of nearly all cell types, purification of DNA and mRNA, isolation of subcellular organelles and microorganisms from food. DMT's technology complements what these protocols offer. We do what no one else does and we do not sell beads. Dexter Magnetic Technologies is the leader in the magnetic separation hardware industry. Our technical focus in the area of biomagnetic processing enables us to understand protocols and develop the best separation solution for you.
       
15.  Will the MCB 1200 help reduce my reagent and bead costs?
    In many cases the advantage of using magnetic bead based protocols for DNA and mRNA isolation is so great when compared with phenol/chloroform extraction or column extraction that the cost of the magnetic beads becomes incidental. This is certainly the case where the number of isolations is small and the focus is on upstream processing. In particular areas though, where the number of samples processed is high, consumable expense becomes much more of an issue. With a 2 mL tube of beads costing as much as $600, performing more than a handful of isolations per day can become expensive. The MCB 1200, in comparative experiments with conventional mixing protocols for the isolation of mRNA (using 2.5x106 Oligo dt20), allows a reduction of up to 40 percent of the required magnetic beads to achieve the same yield.
      
16. With a very small volume of sample, can the MCB 1200 still be used?
    With very small sample volumes, 10 to 20 uL in microcentrifuge tubes, vortexing and conventional end-over-end mixing become inefficient or impractical. Vortexing will introduce considerable shear. End-over-end mixing will serve only to have the sample spread itself over the inside of the wall with little or no mixing having taken place. The magnetic mixing process used in the MCB 1200 is based on a rotating magnet field that mixes the beads without shaking or stirring the medium. Rotation of the magnetic field induces the beads to move within the magnetic field cavity while the sample solution remains motionless. Mixing 10 to 20 uL of sample is easily achievable.

For further inquiries, please e-mail us at info@dextermag.com -or- call us at:  800-345-4082 (In North America) or +44 (0) 1753 737400 (In Europe).