The body’s immune response against infection and disease involves complex signaling processes across diverse cell types. As a part of the innate immune system, neutrophils respond to pathogens through formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), a process referred to as NETosis. Dramatic changes taking place in chromatin structure ultimately lead to the extracellular extrusion of chromatin containing DNA and proteins.

The cell surface of neutrophils is covered with receptors that rapidly sense pathogens in the body. Once removed from circulation, neutrophil responsiveness changes and is affected by the method used for neutrophil isolation. Therefore, most of the current methods for studying neutrophils and NET formation suffer from technical constraints that ultimately limit the clinical translation of in vitro research.