What is the difference between Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) and Fetal Calf Serum (FCS)?

There is no difference. These are different names for the same product. Serum derived from blood of bovine fetuses is referred to as Fetal Bovine Serum or Fetal Calf Serum.

Should I use heat inactivated fetal bovine serum?

Heat inactivation, in general, decreases the growth promoting properties of the serum and causes increased formation of crystalline or flocculent precipitates (salts, proteins, lipids, fibrin, etc.) in the Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) as well as in other serum products. In fact, for many cell culture applications, heat inactivation may be unnecessary. Warming the serum-containing medium to 37˚C prior to use, as is the practice in many cell culture laboratories, is often sufficient to inactivate heat-labile complement factors. Heat inactivated FBS is frequently used in immunological applications.Since every cell type has different growth requirements, the choice of whether to heat inactivate your serum or not must be made by the researcher. If you have concerns about whether to use heat inactivated serum with your cell line or not, perform a side-by-side comparison of cell growth with heat inactivated versus non-heat inactivated serum.For your convenience, R&D Systems offers all serum with or without heat-inactivation.

Fetal Bovine Serum - Embryonic Stem Cell Qualified Best Seller

Name: Fetal Bovine Serum - Embryonic Stem Cell Qualified
Brand: R&D Systems
SKU: S10250

R&D Systems, part of Bio-Techne | Catalog # S10250

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Please Note: An additional $10/bottle handling fee will be applied for 500 mL bottles.

Key Product Details

Features:	For applications utilizing embryonic stem (ES) cells, the success is highly dependent on identifying a suitable lot of Fetal Bovine Serum. ES Cell Qualified Fetal Bovine Serum is pre-screened for exceptional performance with embryonic stem cells, minimizing the need for evaluating serum lots.
Key Benefits:	Utilizes our highest quality FBS Extended testing on mouse embryonic stem (mES) cells Screened for colony morphology, pluripotency, and plating efficiency Maintains mES cells in an undifferentiated state Low endotoxin and hemoglobin levels USDA-Approved FBS of Mexico/Central American origin Manufactured in our ISO 9001:2015 certified facility Formerly sold under the Atlanta Biologicals brand

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Summary for Fetal Bovine Serum - Embryonic Stem Cell Qualified

Why Use Embryonic Stem Cell Qualified Fetal Bovine Serum?

Only the highest quality Fetal Bovine Serum, also known as Fetal Calf Serum (FCS), lots are selected for further testing regarding suitability for culturing embryonic stem cells. This screening includes plating efficiency, colony morphology, and cytotoxicity assays. ES Qualified FBS lots must offer outstanding performance with embryonic stem cells while maintaining the cells in their valuable undifferentiated state. All lots of Embryonic Stem Cell Qualified FBS are manufactured in our ISO 9001:2015 certified facility.

Fetal Bovine Serum and other serum products should be stored and handled correctly to assure long-term stability and to preserve growth performance consistency throughout its shelf-life. In addition, heat inactivation of serum is frequently desired to inactivate complement within the serum. Below are protocol links for serum storage/handling and heat inactivation.

Protocol for Fetal Bovine Serum Storage, Thawing, and Freezing.
Protocol for Heat Inactivation of Serum Products.

Collection, Processing, and Testing of R&D Systems FBS

Collection and Processing - R&D Systems FBS is manufactured under a process that meets USDA requirements for animal products and ensures the product is traceable back to the date and location of collection. Our FBS manufacturing adheres to closed-system collection, processing in positive pressure, HEPA-filtered clean rooms, and triple 0.1 um filtration to remove contaminants. Strict control of the process from collection through processing enables us to provide a stable, consistent performing, and traceable supply of quality serum throughout global fluctuations in serum availability and regulatory requirements.

Virus Testing - Fetal Bovine Serum – Embryonic Stem Cell Qualified undergoes testing for adventitious viruses, such as: Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus (BVDV), Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis Virus (IBRV), Parainfluenza-3 Virus (PI-3V), Bluetongue Virus (BTV), Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus (BRSV), Bovine Parvovirus (BPV), Bovine Adenovirus, Type 3 (BAV-3), Bovine Adenovirus, Type 5 (BAV-5), Reo virus, and Rabies virus.

Biochemical Testing - R&D Systems FBS undergo biochemical profiling including total protein, albumin, globulin, IgG, total bilirubin, glucose, iron, cholesterol, triglycerides, sodium and potassium. View the product insert for a complete list of biochemical profiling components, which may vary between grades.

Chemical Analysis - Each lot of FBS is tested for osmolality, pH, hemoglobin, endotoxin (LAL method) and microbiological contamination (using methods recommended by the U.S. Pharmacopeia).

Product Specifications for Fetal Bovine Serum - Embryonic Stem Cell Qualified

Species	Bovine
Applications	Cell Culture
Formulation	Liquid
Purification	Triple 0.1 μm filtered
Osmolality	280 -335 mOsm
Sterility Testing	Pass
Quality Testing	Pass
Additional Testing	pH - 6.8-7.8 Endotoxin - ≤ 50.0 EU/mL by Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) Assay Hemoglobin - 25 mg/dL Embryonic Stem Cell Culture - Plating efficacy, colony formation, and toxicity

Scientific Data Examples for Fetal Bovine Serum - Embryonic Stem Cell Qualified

	D3 Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells Grown in FBS - ESC Qualified. Representative brightfield image showing colony formation of D3 mouse embryonic stem cells cultured using FBS - Embryonic Stem Cell Qualified from R&D Systems for 4 passages.
	Embryonic Stem Cell Qualified FBS Performance Compared to Alternative Supplier. Three mouse embryonic stem cell (ESC) lines (D3, V6.5, and E14) were cultured for 4 passages in media supplement with 15% FBS from either R&D Systems or an alternative commercial supplier. A) Representative brightfield images of D3 mouse ESC colonies cultured in R&D Systems FBS or Supplier A. Normal colony formation was observed for both serum conditions. B) Quantitative analysis of ESC expansion following 4 passages indicates R&D Systems FBS performs similar to an alternative supplier of FBS.

Preparation & Storage

Shipping Conditions	On Dry Ice
Storage	-5 to -20 °C

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Fetal Bovine Serum - Embryonic Stem Cell Qualified Best Seller

R&D Systems, part of Bio-Techne | Catalog # S10250

Key Product Details

Summary for Fetal Bovine Serum - Embryonic Stem Cell Qualified

Why Use Embryonic Stem Cell Qualified Fetal Bovine Serum?

Collection, Processing, and Testing of R&D Systems FBS

Product Specifications for Fetal Bovine Serum - Embryonic Stem Cell Qualified

Scientific Data Examples for Fetal Bovine Serum - Embryonic Stem Cell Qualified

Preparation & Storage

Customer Reviews for Fetal Bovine Serum - Embryonic Stem Cell Qualified

FAQs for Fetal Bovine Serum - Embryonic Stem Cell Qualified

Product Documents for Fetal Bovine Serum - Embryonic Stem Cell Qualified

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