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Immunomagnetic bone marrow purging is becoming a widely used technique in many bone marrow transplant centres. Most centres use Dynabead magnetic particles to facilitate the procedure. The suitability of a novel magnetic particle (BioMag) for immunomagnetic purging was addressed in this study. Common acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cells were targeted using CD9 and CD10 mouse monoclonal antibodies prior to attachment of magnetic particles coated with anti-mouse immunoglobulin and depleted with samarium cobalt magnets. Immunofluorescent and clonogenic assays capable of measuring more than four log depletions of the Nalm 6 cell line showed that a single cycle of purging reduced target cells by 3.1 +/- 0.9 BioMag particles and 1.8 +/- 1.0 logs with Dynabeads. A second cycle of purging was advantageous, increasing target cell depletions to more than 4.5 logs with either particle type. Bone marrow granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming units were not significantly reduced. The results indicate that BioMag particles can be used for the efficient depletion of common ALL cells from bone marrow for transplantation.