| abstract |
Disclosed is an apparatus designed to be used for enriching specific cell types from cell mixtures. The apparatus includes a centrifugable device that includes a constriction defining a lower region and a defined cell separation medium. The constriction prevents mixing between the upper and lower portions of the device. Also disclosed are methods that use precisely defined cell separation media to isolate specific cells from cell mixtures, including CD34+ hematopoietic progenitor cells from blood or bone marrow, nucleated fetal cells from maternal blood, specific tumor cells, dendritic cells, natural killer cells, and natural suppressor cells from various body fluids, and for enrichment or depletion of T cell lymphocytes. Also disclosed is a density adjusted cell separation technique used to augment the above apparatus and enrichment methods. The apparatus and enrichment methods are useful in various diagnostic and therapeutic regimens. |