Magnetophoresis is the motion of dispersed magnetic particles relative to a fluid under the influence of a magnetic field. The movement of magnetic particles can be used to detect or isolate specific components in the fluid, using specific binding and or capture.

Magnetic bead separation is one of the simplest, affordable and best technologies for detection and purification of DNA, proteins and antibodies. Magnetic beads speed up and simplifies the process. In addition they can be re-activated and used again for some applications. A large advantage is that after initial manual handling, the same purification or detection can be automated easily and conversion to a high-throughput system (e.g. robot) is feasible.

Separation is highly dependent on the demands of the assay and the environment (fluid, suspensions, blood) in which it takes place. Shorter separation times can be achieved by higher magnetic forces, beads with a higher magnetic load. However shorter times may lead to non-quantitative isolation, and beads with higher magnetic load are usually more dense and prone to rapid sedimentation. Therefore the quality control process in customizing a bead to a specific assay takes has to take into account the demands of the assay or isolation.

Our magnetic beads are produced in-house and consist of iron oxide nanoparticles wrapped in a silica-bead. By tuning the size of the bead, and the percentage of the iron oxide nanoparticles we can tune the magnetic saturation, the speed to magnet, and the time in suspension (before sedimentation).

Last but not least, the surface makes the difference! Our superior surface chemistry enables high specific capture with low aspecific binding. In addition, our chemistry enables customization of the bead surface to your needs.