Patent ID: 7169618

Claim:
A method of separating a target material from a liquid mixture, comprising: forming and at least substantially purifying aggregates having a plurality of crystallites of a magnetizable metal oxide; coating the formed and at least substantially purified aggregates with a polysaccharide material to form coated aggregates, wherein the polysaccharide material includes at least one pendant carboxyl group directly attached to a linker which is directly attached to a polysaccharide, wherein the linker has at least one heteroatom for every three carbon atoms in the linker; treating the coated aggregates by attaching a specific binding member having a binding affinity for the target material to the polysaceharide material via the carboxyl group to form treated aggregates; combining the treated aggregates with the liquid mixture containing the target material for a sufficient time for the target material to bind to the specific binding member; applying a magnetic field to the combination of the treated aggregates and the liquid mixture; and separating the treated aggregates, including the target material bound thereto, from the liquid mixture, using the magnetic field.