A METHOD AND A SYSTEM FOR DETERMINING COUNTS OF A TARGET CELLULAR ENTITY IN A SUSPENSION USING MAGNETIC LEVITATION

摘要

A method for determining cell count of a target cell 10, using magnetic levitation, comprises labeling the target cell 10 in a known volume of suspension, with an additive 20. The additive 20 has a binding site 21 such as binding site of an antibody specific for the target cell 10 and a non binding component 22 such as a gold nanoparticle. The antibody 20 along with the gold nanoparticle 22 binds to the target cell 10, through the binding site 21, to produce an aggregate 30. The nanoparticle 22 imparts a color to the aggregate 30. The nanoparticle 22 also brings the density of the aggregate 30 in a range where the technique of magnetic levitation can be performed. The aggregate 30 is then subjected to magnetic levitation. The aggregate 30 forms a layer in the magnetic levitation apparatus. The width y of the layer is measured to obtain a data 80. The layer is visible due to nanoparticle color and the color helps in generating the data 80. The data 80 so obtained is processed by comparing it to a reference data set 90 to obtain the counts of the aggregate 30 in the suspension. The count of the aggregate 30 is proportional to the count of the target cell 10, and thus count of target cell 10 is determined from the count of the aggregate 30.