Progress in isolation and enrichment of fetal nucleated read blood cells from maternal peripheral blood

Fetal nucleated red blood cells (fNRBCs) from maternal peripheral blood have the whole genetic information of fetal, which could be used for non-invasive prenatal diagnosis. There are three sorts of methods for isolation and enrichment of fNRBCs: physical separation methods, antigen-antibody-dependent methods, and proliferation methods. The yield and purity vary from different methods. Combination of several methods could improve yield and purity of fNRBCs. In this review, we describe the progress in isolation and enrichment of fNRBCs from maternal peripheral blood. Key words: Fetal; Nucleated red blood cells; Peripheral blood; Non-invasive prenatal diagnosis; Isolation; Enrichment