Erythrina Cristagalli Lectin (ECL, ECA), Unconjugated

Carbohydrate structures that bind to ECL are commonly found in membrane and serum glycoproteins of mammalian origin. The substitution of sialic acid on this structure appears to prevent lectin binding. This specificity provides an opportunity to isolate or isolate mammalian glycoproteins using agarose bound ECL. This lectin can reportedly be used to isolate human natural killer (NK) cells using negative selection screening techniques (protocols are available upon request or on our website). Human NK cells appear to lack the accessible surface carbohydrate structure needed to bind ECL and, unlike other monocytes, do not adhere to ECL-coated petri dishes. Because the process involves a negative selection screening technique, a high recovery rate of live NK cells can be obtained. Adherent cells can also be incubated in galactose or lactose to recover.