Patent ID: 9624474
Date: 2017-04-18
CPC Classifications: C07K,C12N

Claim:
1. An improved method of separating a circulating tumor cell (CTC) from a sample, the improvement comprising specifically binding the CTC to a particle and centrifuging the sample so as to effect a differential centrifugation rate: incubating a sample comprising a CTC and a leukocyte with a particle comprising a moiety that selectively binds to the CTC to form a complex comprising the particle and the CTC; and, centrifuging the sample in a centrifugation medium to separate the complex from the leukocyte; wherein the complex and the leukocyte exhibit a sedimentation rate during centrifugation, and the ratio of the sedimentation rate of the leukocyte to the sedimentation rate of the complex is about 1:2 to about 1:30, wherein the density of the particle is about 1.07 g/cm3 to about 2.0 g/cm3, wherein the diameter of the particle is about 1 μm to about 6 μm, wherein the centrifuging is performed with a gravitational force of about 50 g to about 200 g.