Magnetic Cell Separation is a technique that uses magnetic beads attached to antibodies or ligands targeting specific cell surface antigens to isolate or deplete selected cell populations from a heterogeneous mixture. When an electromagnetic field is applied, labeled cells linked to magnetic particles can be immobilized or separated quickly and simply, making this method widely used for obtaining highly purified cell subsets.

Cell Isolation, more broadly, is the process of separating individual living cells from solid tissue or mixed cell suspensions based on specific physical or biological properties. It can involve various techniques including enzymatic digestion to separate cells from tissue, density gradient centrifugation, fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), filtration, and magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACS). The goal is to obtain pure populations of cells for research or clinical use by reducing interference from other cell types.

In summary:

• Magnetic Cell Separation is a specific method of cell isolation that uses magnetic beads and antibodies for rapid, targeted separation of cells.
• Cell Isolation is the general process of separating cells from tissues or mixed samples using diverse methods to study or utilize selected cell populations.
  

This technique is vital across biomedical research and applications such as diagnostics, therapeutics, and fundamental cell biology.