Investigating the effect of immunomagnetic separation on the immunophenotype and viability of plasma cells in plasma cell disorders.

Plasma cell enrichment plays a pivotal role in the accurate prognosis and molecular characterization of multiple myeloma. The separation is commonly carried out by positive cell selection using CD138 monoclonal antibody conjugated to magnetic beads. Optimally, during the separation procedure, the cells should neither be damaged, nor should their phenotype be significantly altered, as these changes would falsify the results if the isolated cells were subsequently used.