Serum, after blood coagulation, removes yellowish clear fluid separated from fibrinogen or plasma where fibrinogen has been removed. Its main role is to provide essential nutrients, provide hormones, and various growth factors, provide binding proteins, provide pro-contact and extension factors to prevent cell adhesion from mechanical damage, and play some protective effects against cells in culture.

FBS, dialyzed FBS, natural low IGG FBS, stem cell culture FBS, special purpose FBS, activated carbon/glucose, FBS replacement, calf serum, newborn serum, enhanced calf serum, iron supplement calf serum, adult calf serum, donor horse serum, rabbit serum, chicken serum, pig serum, horse serum, other animal serum, synthetic serum substitute. So, what is the difference between horse serum and bovine serum in cell culture?

　　Cells do not survive in pure medium, and in particular types of cell cultures, they must be provided with certain nutrients and growth factors to grow and maintain growth. The basal culture medium is often added with serum, and the final serum concentration is mostly 5-20%. Serum sources for special use need to be determined empirically.

　　Widely used serum species are horse serum and bovine serum, which is rich in mitotic factors. It is often selected as a serum for proliferating cells, and it is also used for cell lines and primary cultures. And horse serum is often used for post-mitotic neuronal cultures. However, many people also use FBS for neuronal culture, and others use horse serum for glial cells.

Role of serum in cell culture

1. Provide hormones to maintain exponential cell growth, no or little amounts of nutrients in the basal medium, and major low molecular nutrients.

2. Provide binding proteins that recognize vitamins, lipids, metals, and other hormones, and can combine or modify the vitality of the substances they bind to.

3. In some cases, binding proteins can bind to toxic metals and pyrogens to detoxify.

4. It is the source of factors required for cell adhesion and spread on the plastic culture matrix.

5. It acts as a pH buffer.

6. Provide protease inhibitors that inactivate the remaining trypsin and protect the cells from injury.