Currently available methods for cell separation are generally based on fluorescent labeling using either endogenously expressed fluorescent markers or the binding of antibodies or antibody mimetics to surface antigenic epitopes. However, such modification of the target cells requires their molecular characterization and represents potential contamination by non-native proteins, which may affect further cell response and be outright undesirable in applications, such as cell expansion for diagnostic or therapeutic applications, including immunotherapy.

We developed a label- and antibody-free method for separating macrophages from living Drosophila based on their ability to preferentially phagocytose whole yeast glucan particles. Using a novel deswelling entrapment approach based on spray drying, we have successfully fabricated yeast glucan particles with the previously unachievable content of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles while retaining their surface features responsible for phagocytosis. We demonstrate that magnetic yeast glucan particles enable macrophage separation at comparable yields to fluorescence-activated cell sorting without compromising their viability or affecting their normal function and gene expression. The use of magnetic yeast glucan particles is broadly applicable to situations where viable macrophages separated from living organisms are subsequently used for analyses, such as gene expression, metabolomics, proteomics, single-cell transcriptomics, or enzymatic activity analysis. Since this method is based on the ability common to all phagocytes, this approach is theoretically applicable to the separation of immune cells from non-model insect species such as bees or mosquitoes.