How do I choose the best cell separation method for my research?

There are several criteria that can be used to determine which cell separation method to use. The criteria you use will depend primarily on the downstream applications for the isolated cells. The aim should be to obtain the highly purified, functional cells you require for your research while maximizing efficiency. These are some of the factors to consider when choosing the best cell separation method for your research: 

Performance 

Purity and recovery are the two key measures of cell performance for cell separation methods. 

• Purity refers to the proportion of desired cells present in the final isolated cell fraction. It is usually expressed as a percentage of the total live cells. 
• Recovery refers to the number of desired cells you are actually able to isolate from the total number obtained from the sample. 

Efficiency 

Choosing a method that will maximize the efficiency of your cell separation is important so you can accomplish more in less time. When evaluating efficiency, some parameters to be considered are ease of use, throughput, and speed. 

• Ease of use reduces user-caused variability and errors and increases reliability and reproducibility of your chosen cell separation method. 
• When working with large sample volumes or multiple samples simultaneously, make sure to choose a cell separation method that supports your desired throughput (the rate at which cell separation can be completed in terms of number of cells, sample volume, or number of samples). 
• Choosing a faster cell separation method will allow you to accomplish more in less time while also increasing your throughput.