Immunivest Corporation

Weixin Tang

Paul A Liberti

Yuzhou Wang

Dhanesh I Gohel

Brian P Feeley

William J Cronin

A magnetic separation apparatus is disclosed herein. The apparatus includes a flow-through vessel defining a plenum and an inlet port for introducing fluid into the plenum. A hydrodynamic damping structure is provided between the inlet port and plenum for reducing turbulence in the fluid. A mounting device is provided with a slot therein for supporting and receiving the vessel. The mounting device also supports a first array of magnets along one side of the slot and arranged adjacent one another to face the slot with alternating polarity, and a second array of magnets along the opposite side of the slot from the first array arranged adjacent one another to face the slot with alternating polarity and confronting and magnetically opposing the magnets in the first array. The first and second arrays of magnets produce a magnetic field within the plenum having a field strength that is maximum at a location at the interior surface of a wall of the vessel and that is minimum at a geometrical center of the plenum so that magnetic particles in the fluid are attracted to and immobilized on the inner surface of the vessel.

Magnetic separation apparatus

Methods and devices are provided for separation of magnetic particles and/or magnetic-associated substances from non-magnetic associated substances and media. The methods are specifically applicable to biological separation, and utilize a phase phenomenon arising from mutual interactions between suspended magnetic particles and interactions with the suspension medium. The phenomenon is exploited to produce and maintain a distinct, structured phase of magnetic particles, or ferrophase, within a multi-phase liquid system. A ferrophase is established within a separation chamber prior to introducing therein a test sample containing the target substances to be separated. The formation of a ferrophase is used to transport target substances from regions of relatively low magnetic field gradient to regions of relatively high magnetic field gradient within a high-gradient magnetic separation apparatus. Such transport of the ferrophase is accomplished at greater speed than the transport of individual magnetic particles within a single liquid phase, thereby enabling a more effective separation of magnetic from non-magnetic components.

Method for magnetic separation featuring magnetic particles in a

A magnetic separator for isolating magnetically-labeled substances of interest, such as immunological agents, from a non-magnetic test medium using a method of high gradient magnetic separation. The target substance is contacted with microscopic magnetic particles having a receptor for binding with the target substance. The test medium containing the magnetic particles is held in a non-magnetic container and placed into a gap within an arrangement of magnets for causing the magnetic particles to adhere to selected locations upon the interior wall of the container. The quantity of magnetic particles may be controlled to cause the magnetic particles collected upon the interior wall to form a monolayer. The magnets are arranged upon a yoke which may provide linear, surrounding multipolar, or partially surrounding multipolar configurations of magnetic pole faces about the gap. The magnetic pole faces may be of differing cross-sectional areas to enhance the magnetic field gradient in regions adjacent to the smaller pole faces. The method and apparatus may be used for such investigations as enzyme-labeled competitive immunoassay and 'sandwich' immunoassays.

Growing community of inventors

Landsdale, PA, United States of America

Weixin Tang