Magnetic beads are surface activated magnetic particles intended for covalent immobilization of proteins (e.g. antibodies, enzymes), peptides, nucleic acids or other molecules of interest. Beads with a thiol modified surface are intended for SH coupling chemistry.
These beads come in three different diameters: 600nm, 1µm and 3µm. 600nm beads have a larger surface area, and the sedimentation time of 600nm beads is approximately 4 times slower than that of 1µm beads. This allows longer incubation times without shaking/mixing. Magnetic beads with a diameter of 3µm have stronger magnetic properties and will separate approximately 4 times faster than 600nm beads under the same conditions.