Fetal Bovine Serum – the gold standard of tissue and mammalian cell culture can seem a bit mysterious. We’re here to demystify FBS.
Traceability and Quality Assurance
Why Traceability Matters in Our Products Traceability is your key to quality, compliance, and transparency. We ensure an unbroken chain of information from source to final product, meeting rigorous quality controls at every stage.
How We Achieve Full Traceability We collaborate with manufacturers committed to the highest levels of traceability. That means every bottle you receive from us meets the most stringent quality controls, passing USP Sterility and the most updated Virus Testing.
Does Country of Origin Affect Quality? Quality is about the process, not the location. The important thing is that all regulatory and industry standards are met, regardless of the serum’s origin.
Storage and Handling
Storage Temperature and Shelf Life You can store serum between +2 to +8°C for up to 6 weeks without any drop in performance. For long-term storage, aim for a temperature around -20°C.
Thawing and Mixing: Doing It Right For best results, thaw serum at temperatures between 2-8°C and mix well before use. Avoid temperatures above 37°C, as they can degrade valuable serum components.
About Those Precipitates in the Serum Not to worry—whether it’s fibrin or calcium phosphate, these natural variations won’t impact the serum’s performance in your cell cultures. Heat Inactivated versions may have more than non-heated product.
Technical Insights
What ‘USDA Approved’ Really Means The serum source country has USDA approval for importation of Bovine products. Material is quarantined and sample tested before released to market. You can use it with full confidence.
Heat Inactivation: Yay or Nay? Heat inactivation usually isn’t necessary outside of certain immunological applications where you’re looking at protein complement. Consider your specific requirements before you decide to heat-inactivate your serum.
Endotoxins, Hemoglobin, and Bovine Viruses Our serum meets all industry standards for endotoxin levels. Typical hemoglobin concentrations are below 20 mg/dL, with endotoxin below 1.0EU/mL and don’t affect performance. We test for bovine viruses according to the latest, 9CFR Part 113. Gamma irradiation can be used as an additional safety measure when needed.
Price and Regulations
Why Do Prices Differ by Country? Supply and demand balance varies among FMD-Free countries, which impacts pricing.
Navigating Viral Concerns and BSE Risks We only source from World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and USDA-approved countries which are categorized as having a negligible risk of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), a bovine-specific Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE).
Gamma Irradiation: What You Need to Know Gamma irradiation can effectively eliminate viral risks without affecting initial serum performance. However, we recommend testing its impact on your specific cell lines.
Why Do Prices Fluctuate ? Fetal Bovine Serum is a byproduct of meatpacking industry. Drought related issues included decreased forage, increased costs, and herd reduction directly effect the pricing and availability of FBS. Global import and export changes can also effect availability and price.
