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Human Serum for Cell Culture

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Serum is the fluid that remains once clotting factors are removed from blood plasma. A common supplement in cell culture media, serum provides a mix of hormones, growth and attachment factors, buffering agents, and other nutritional components to cells. Some studies have determined that human serum is better suited than FBS for certain human cell culture applications, such as cell invasion studies and the formation of spheroids. Our human serum for cell culture is tested for the presence of viruses, bacteria, hemoglobin, and toxins, and then serially filtered under sterile conditions.

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Human AB Serum Products

Human adult AB serum is used for culturing human cell lines, including human stem cell lines. We offer both AB off-the-clot and AB plasma products. Human AB serum is prepared from whole blood that is allowed to clot naturally, called OTC or Off-The-Clot serum. Human serum from clotted whole blood is used most frequently however, as it contains more growth factors for cell growth.

AB human serum can also be plasma-derived or prepared from whole blood that is not allowed to coagulate. Once the plasma is separated from whole blood, it is treated with calcium to activate the clotting cascade and centrifuged to extract the serum. This preparation is used when testing sera for growth factors.

We offer heat inactivated human AB serum both from plasma and clotted whole blood. Adult serum contains complement, a component in sera that can be harmful to some cells or have deleterious effects in downstream immunoassays. Heat inactivation of serum is inactivates complement, and this serum is mainly used when culturing hematopoietic cells or when performing immunological assays, such as mixed-lymphocyte reactions or neutralization assays.

Human Serum from Platelet Poor Plasma

Human serum from platelet poor plasma (PPP) is a media supplement that is often used in studies that look at the effects that platelet lysates have on the cellular growth, such as on human skin fibroblasts and articular chondrocytes growth. PPP human sera is also used when differentiating human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPS) to hiPS-brain microvascular endothelial cells or in platelet derived growth factor (PDGF) purification assays.

Applications for Human Serum

Human serum from blood type AB donors lacks antibodies specific for both A and B blood-type antigens, making it suitable for transplantation and cell therapy. Other biotechnical and biopharmaceutical applications include tissue engineering, the expansion of mesenchymal stem cells from adipose tissue, or of mesenchymal stromal cells from human bone marrow. In addition, AB serum is essential for expanding peripheral blood-derived NK cells, and for enhancing pre-transplant human islet culture.

Related Product Categories
Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS)
FBS, or fetal bovine serum (also called FCS) is one of the most important supplements for mammalian cell culture. Choose FBS grade based on documentation requirements and application specificity.
Sera
Origin-certified, quality-controlled cell culture sera include FBS, other bovine sera, human serum, and sera from diverse animal species, rigorously screened for contaminants and performance-tested in culture.
Other Sera for Cell Culture
Although FBS is the most common serum variety used for cell culture, adult and newborn bovine serum and sera from other species are alternatives for cell culture supplementation.
Classical Media & Buffers
Choose from a range of optimized cell culture media formulations, including DMEM, RPMI-1640, and serum-free options for diverse cellular needs.
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Cell culture supplements enable the customization of media with defined characteristics to support specific applications and serum-free culture needs. Our culture-grade supplements include ITS formulations, amino acids, vitamins, antibiotics, and reagents qualified for hybridoma and insect cell culture.
Stem Cells
Our complete range of ES and iPS cell-qualified products includes stem cell lines and media for differentiation and maturation, and provides stem cell researchers with convenient and cost-effective solutions for the reliable culture of pluripotent stem cells.
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Cell lines from human and other mammalian species are essential for modeling disease and biological systems, and are critical tools for protein, antibody, virus, and vaccine production. We offer authenticated, contaminant-free cell lines, many in partnership with ECACC.
Primary Cells
Primary cells are derived directly from living tissue and closely replicate the physiology of biological systems. Our collection includes blood, patient tumor xenografts, and hepatocytes essential for drug screening and ADME/Tox studies.
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Applications, principles, and methods for in vitro mammalian cell culture including links to articles, protocols, and videos for proper aseptic technique, passaging and subculturing, and culture media considerations.
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Primary cells isolated directly from human and animal sources maintain physiological relevance of the tissues from which they are derived, and are used for ADME/Tox screening. Find applications and methods for culturing mammalian primary cells in vitro.
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An overview of different stem cell types, stem cell culture basics and stem cell applications in basic research and clinical research applications, such as tissue regeneration, genetic diseases and cancer.
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Culture media preparation for in vitro cell cultivation including preparation of different media formats, sterilization methods, cell growth and regulation supplements, media storage and use.
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A synopsis of the conditions, media, nutrients, cultureware, and environments required for successful propagation of mammalian and yeast cells. Nutrient reagents, sterile technique and filtration, and requirements for 2D, 3D, and suspension cultures are described.
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