Patent ID: 6926915

Claim:
A method for selectively separating and recovering hematopoietic cells and/or erythroblasts from a blood sample containing differentiated mature cells, immature hematopoietic cells and erythroblasts, characterized in that the method comprises the following steps: (1) a step for causing said sample to interact with lectins to form cell-lectin complexes/non-complexes under conditions in which the cells are rendered inactive, (2) a step for incubating a sample containing said cell-lectin complexes/non-complexes under said conditions with a substrate, the surface of which is covered with a synthetic glycoconjugate polymer having carbohydrate moieties specifically recognized by said lectins, and immobilizing said cells on the surface of said substrate via lectins, and (3) a step for separating the liquid phase from the solid phase, and recovering desired blood cells from said liquid phase and/or said solid phase; and in that said lectins are present in an amount such that they bind to the cells recovered from said solid phase and immobilize these cells on the surface of the substrate, but do not immobilize the cells recovered from said liquid phase to the surface of said substrate.