Patent ID: 7364906

Claim:
A method of quantitating a specific cell type in a cell suspension comprising the following steps: a) providing a suspension of cells in a liquid medium, said cells including a population of first cells, said population of first cells comprising a population of second cells and optionally a population of third cells, b) counting the number of first cells per unit volume of said suspension, c) performing one of steps (c1) and (c2) (c1) incubating in said suspension a group of first beads and a group of second beads, each of said first beads being specifically adapted to bind to at least one of said first cells, each of said second beads being specifically adapted to bind to at least one of said second cells, said incubation being for a period of time effective to permit said first beads to bind to said first cells to form first bead-cell complexes, said incubation being for a period of time effective to permit said second beads to bind to said second cells to form second bead-cell complexes, (c2) incubating in said suspension a group of first beads and a group of second beads, each of said first beads being specifically adapted to bind to at least one of said second cells, each of said second beads being specifically adapted to bind to at least one of said third cells, said incubation being for a period of time effective to permit said first beads to bind to said second cells to form first bead-cell complexes, said incubation being for a period of time effective to permit said second beads to bind to said third cells to form second bead-cell complexes, d) separating said first bead-cell complexes and said second bead-cell complexes from said suspension by filtration through a filter, wherein said filter permits effective separation of said bead-cell complexes from said suspension, and transferring to a glass slide said bead-cell complexes separated by said filtration, said first beads and said second beads being visually distinguishable in size or color, e) estimating the relative percentages of 1) the cells bound to the first beads and 2) the cells bound to the second beads, and f) calculating the estimated number of second cells or the estimated number of third cells per unit volume of said suspension.