Cell Separation 

Background information
The CD138 antigen, also known as syndecan-1, is primarily expressed on normal and malignant plasma cells in the bone marrow. It is further found on a subset of plasma cells in peripheral blood and certain lymphoid tissues. The CD138 antigen is neither expressed on naive B cells, germinal center B cells, memory B cells, nor on T cells or monocytes.
Downstream applications
Since the direct study of plasma cells is hampered by their low frequency, prior enrichment of plasma cells using CD138 MicroBeads allows more accurate cell analysis, e.g. by flow cytometry. To ease the analysis of enriched plasma cells, CD138 MicroBeads are also available in combination with CD138-PE. Plasma cells purified with CD138 MicroBeads are applied for molecular biological studies, such as PCR, microarrays or protein analysis.
Columns
For positive selection: MS, LS, XS, or autoMACS® Columns. For depletion: LD, D, or autoMACS Columns.