Method and system for buoyant separation

A system for facilitating the separation of a set of target materials from a sample, the system comprising:

• a set of buoyant spheres, the set of buoyant spheres associated with a first density;
• a container comprising a deformable bag, the deformable bag configured to be separable into a set of multiple portions;
• an automated fluid handling subsystem, wherein the automated fluid handling subsystem is configured to:
• add, to the deformable bag, the sample associated with a second density, the second density greater than the first density, wherein the sample comprises:
• the set of target materials;
• a set of non-target materials;
• add, to the deformable bag, the set of buoyant spheres, wherein the set of buoyant spheres is configured to bind with at least a portion of the set of target materials, thereby producing a set of target-bound materials;
• with a sealing component, separate the deformable bag into the set of multiple portions, thereby enabling accumulation of the set of target-bound materials at a predetermined region of an internal volume of the deformable bag, thereby facilitating the separation.