Rapid isolation of nuclei from living immune cells by a single centrifugation through a multifunctional lysis gradient

► An efficient isolation procedure for nuclei of primary immune cells is described. ► Living cells are applied on an iodixanol-based density gradient that contains a lysis layer. ► Mild cell lysis and washing of the nuclei is performed during a single low speed centrifugation step in only 10 min. ► Highly pure nuclei can be obtained from only 1 × 106 primary cells such as monocytes.