Dynabeads Magnetic Bead Separation Technology | Thermo Fisher Scientific

Dynabeads products center around the goals to provide reliable and reproducible results for the purification and analysis of cells, proteins, exosomes, DNA, RNA, and other molecules. Dynabeads magnetic beads and products deliver highly cited results in the research industry across multiple application areas. Meanwhile, Thermo Fisher Scientific provides exceptional service and support backed by over 30+ years of knowledge and expertise.

What are Dynabeads magnetic beads?

Dynabeads magnetic beads are superparamagnetic particles—they exhibit magnetic properties when placed in a magnetic field but retain no residual magnetism once removed from the magnetic field
Unique batch-to-batch reproducibility secures reproducible, quality results
Spherical shape and defined surface chemistry minimizes chemical agglutination and non-specific binding
Polymer shell on each bead protects your target from toxic exposure to iron
Bioreactive molecules can be absorbed or coupled to their surface, and used to separate biological materials (cells, proteins, nucleic acids, etc.)

Dynabeads magnetic beads come in several sizes and different surface functionalities for use in a wide variety of applications. Some beads are precoupled with a biomolecule (ligand). The ligand can be an antibody, protein or antigen, DNA/RNA probe, or any other molecule with an affinity for the desired target (Figure 1). Ready-to-use Dynabeads products and kits are available for many applications. For assays that require flexibility, a range of Dynabeads products with specific characteristics are available.

Dynabeads magnetic bead separation applications

Learn more about application areas and how Dynabeads products can help your research.

Cell isolation

Cell isolation consists of isolating your cell population of interest. Dynabeads kits can be used for positive cell isolation, negative cell isolation, or cell depletion.

Learn more about cell isolation

T cell activation

Dynabeads products can help activate and expand naïve and memory T cells, T cell clones, regulatory T cells, natural killer T (NKT) cells, and cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) from mouse and human samples.

Learn more about T cell activation and expansion

Immunoprecipitation

Precipitate your protein complex of interest with magnetic beads for immunoprecipitation. Dynabeads magnetic beads offer high capacity and yield, low non-specific binding, sensitivity, reproducibility, and cost effectiveness.

Learn more about immunoprecipitation

Exosome studies

Exosomes are small vesicles that carry and transport RNA and protein. Dynabeads exosome kits and reagents are used for the isolation, detection, and analysis of exosomes.

Learn more about exosome studies

Streptavidin beads

Streptavidin is a small protein with high affinity. Dynabeads streptavidin magnetic beads are used in the isolation of cells, isolation of proteins, nucleic acid capture, mRNA synthesis, and NGS workflows.

Learn more about Dynabeads streptavidin magnetic beads

DNA/RNA purification

Nucleic acid isolation and purification is commonly the first step in a molecular biology lab. Dynabeads magnetic beads and kits offer easy-to-follow, paramagnetic bead-based nucleic acid extraction.

Learn more about DNA and RNA purification

Surface-activated beads

Surface-activated magnetic beads are used to immobilize a target ligand for protein capture from a sample. Dynabeads magnetic beads with different surface functionalities, such as tosylactivated, carboxylic acid, amine, or epoxy are available for isolation of proteins, target nucleic acids, and cells.

Learn more about Dynabeads surface-activated magnetic beads

Virus enrichment

Virus purification is important to identify and functionally define new and old viruses. Dynabeads magnetic beads provide a rapid, convenient, and automatable way to concentrate virus-containing solutions.

Learn more about virus purification

How does magnetic bead separation work?

Magnetic bead separation using Dynabeads products consists of three simple steps:

Bind—When added to a sample, Dynabeads magnetic beads bind to the desired target (cells, pathogenic microorganisms, nucleic acids, peptide, protein, or protein complex, etc.). This interaction relies on the specific affinity of the ligand on the surface of the beads (Figure 1).
Wash—The beads respond to a magnetic field, allowing bound material to be rapidly and efficiently separated from the rest of the sample. Unbound material is simply removed by aspiration, and the bead-bound target is washed using a magnet/magnetic rack.
Elute—The bead-bound target is released in a suitable volume for use in downstream applications. Alternatively, the bead-bound target can be used directly while still attached to the beads.

No centrifugation or columns are required. The Dynabeads magnetic separation protocol is scalable and easily adapted to automated handling systems.

Figure 1. How magnetic bead separation works with Dynabeads products. Dynabeads magnetic beads (gold) can bind to several antigens in a variety of ways.

Automate your sample preparation using Dynabeads magnetic beads with protocols for Kingfisher instruments

KingFisher instruments automate the isolation of DNA, RNA, proteins, exosomes, viruses, and cells. KingFisher instruments help eliminate cross contamination, produce reproducible results, and cut your hands-on time down to 40 minutes. Set up plates, press start, and walk away.

Learn more about KingFisher instruments for automated protocols

Three KingFisher automation family of instruments: Duo Prime, Flex, and Presto

Searching for high-performing, sustainable magnetic beads? Introducing DynaGreen Magnetic Beads.

Smart graph of sustainability factors of DynaGreen magnetic beads, which includes non-microplastic bead core, energy-efficient manufacturing, reduced water consumption, use of non-hazardous chemicals, recyclable packaging, and paperless documents

DynaGreen Magnetic Beads provide high-quality, reproducible results and are also environmentally friendly and microplastic-free. How do these beads contribute to a more sustainable science? All DynaGreen Magnetic Beads have the following features:

Non-microplastic bead core
Energy-efficient manufacturing
Reduced water consumption
Use of non-hazardous chemicals
Recyclable packaging
Paperless documents

Learn more about DynaGreen Magnetic Beads

Combine Dynabeads products with your own antibody

As shown in Figure 1, there are a multitude of ways to use Dynabeads magnetic beads for cell, protein, ligand, or nucleic acid isolation. View the table below to determine which Dynabeads product will work best with your starting sample and downstream application.

Type	Product	Starting sample	Benefits
Streptavidin	Dynabeads FlowComp Flexi Kit	PBMC, blood, single cell suspensions from lymph nodes, spleen, or other tissues	This kit provides everything you need for labeling of antibodies and subsequent cell isolation. Beads are removed after isolation to obtain pure and viable cells suitable for any downstream application.
	CELLection Biotin Binder Kit	PBMC, tissue digests, blood	Use with any biotinylated antibody to positively isolate cells from any species. The beads are removed after isolation to obtain pure and viable cells for use in any application.
	Dynabeads Biotin Binder	PBMC, tissue digests, blood	Isolate any cell from any species. This kit binds all biotinylated antibodies and is our most flexible secondary product for cell isolation or depletion.
	Dynabeads Sheep anti-Rat IgG	PBMC, tissue digests, blood	Isolate any cell type from any species excluding rat to use with your preferred primary IgG rat antibody. Ideal for positive isolation, negative isolation, or depletion of cells.
Secondary-coated	Dynabeads Pan Mouse IgG	PBMC, tissue digests, blood	A flexible secondary product for cell isolation or depletion. It will bind all subclasses of mouse IgG and is Fc specific. Requires less antibody and has shown no cross reactivity to human, rat, hamster, goat, rabbit, and guinea pig IgG.
	CELLection Pan Mouse IgG	PBMC, tissue digests, blood	Use with any mouse IgG to positively isolate cells from any species except mouse. Beads can be removed after isolation to leave pure and viable cells for use in any application.
	Dynabeads Sheep anti-Mouse IgG	PBMC, tissue digests, blood	Isolate any cell type from any species except mouse. For use with your primary mouse IgG1, IgG2a, or IgG2b antibody of choice. Ideal for positive isolation, negative isolation, or depletion of cells. Also available in clinical research grade as Dynabeads ClinExVivo Sheep anti-Mouse IgG.
	Dynabeads Goat anti-Mouse IgG	PBMC, tissue digests, blood	Isolate any cell type from any species except mouse. For use with your primary IgG mouse antibody of choice. Ideal for positive isolation, negative isolation, or depletion of cells.
	Dynabeads Rat anti-Mouse IgM	PBMC, tissue digests, blood	Isolate any cell type from any species except mouse. For use with your primary mouse IgM antibody of choice. Ideal for positive isolation, negative isolation, or depletion of cells.
	Dynabeads Sheep anti-Rabbit IgG	PBMC, tissue digests, blood	Isolate any cell type from any species except rabbit. For use with your primary rabbit antibody of choice. This product can be used for eukaryotic cells.
Surface-activated	Dynabeads M-450 Epoxy	PBMC, tissue digests, blood	Hydrophobic naked beads with glycidyl ether (epoxy) reactive groups. Ideal for coupling of antibodies for cell applications. Coupling reactions can be performed at neutral pH, with 24-hour incubation at room temperature. Also available in clinical research grade as Dynabeads ClinExVivo Epoxy.
Surface-activated	Dynabeads M-450 Tosylactivated	PBMC, tissue digests, blood	Hydrophobic naked beads with p-toluenesulphonyl (tosyl) reactive groups. For coupling of antibodies for cell applications. Coupling reactions can be performed at neutral pH although high pH and incubation at 37°C will promote covalent binding.

Video: Magnetic separation using Dynabeads magnetic beads

History of Dynabeads magnetic beads

Dynal is built on a breakthrough that revolutionized the separation of biological materials. In 1976, the Norwegian professor John Ugelstad first succeeded in making spherical polystyrene beads of uniform size—only previously achieved by NASA in the weightless conditions of space. Another amazing achievement followed when the uniform beads were made magnetizable.

As the first mono-disperse solid-phase in solution, these pioneering innovations defined magnetic separation technology and allowed researchers to get lab results that were previously unattainable. A wide range of easy-to-use Dynabeads magnetic beads have since been developed, creating unlimited possibilities for biological discovery. Over the years, this Dynabeads magnetic bead technology has been used in a staggering range of applications within life sciences, biotech, and healthcare.

1980—The technology behind the superparamagnetic beads was licensed to Dyno Industries.
1982—Dynabeads magnetic beads were commercially developed with Pharmacia Fine Chemicals in Uppsala, Sweden (now part of GE Healthcare).
1986—Dynal AS was established.
2000—Through the acquisition of Dyno Particles, Dynal obtained control of the entire manufacturing chain, along with extensive IPR and know-how for both magnetic and non-magnetic particles.
2001—Dynal Biotech was acquired by Nordic Capital and Ratos AB, Sweden.
2003—Two Pel-Freez companies in Brown Deer (USA) and Beijing (China) became part of Dynal Biotech.
2005—Invitrogen acquired Dynal Biotech.
2006—Dynal changed its name to Invitrogen Dynal AS.

Exceptional product quality and reproducibility has always been the hallmark of Dynal. Inspired by the Norwegian invention of magnetic bead-based separation technology, we are committed to helping deliver consistency and reduce variability in your protocols.