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What are the roles of fetal bovine serum (FBS) in cell culture experiments?
Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) is a commonly used serum in cell culture. It is rich in a variety of bioactive components, including growth factors, hormones, and nutrients, which play crucial roles in cell growth, differentiation, and metabolism. In cell culture, FBS is typically added to culture media to supply the nutrients and growth factors necessary for cell proliferation and survival.
Why choose fetal bovine serum?
Fetal bovine serum is the most widely used natural supplement in cell culture, rich in essential nutrients required for cell growth and performing critical functions. Fetal bovine serum is categorized into calf serum, newborn calf serum, and fetal bovine serum. Among these, fetal bovine serum is the highest‑quality type, as fetuses have not yet been exposed to the external environment, resulting in the lowest levels of potentially harmful components such as antibodies and complement.
The main components of fetal bovine serum
• Protein
Including albumin, globulins, alpha‑macroglobulin, fetuin, transferrin, fibronectin (which promotes cell adhesion and growth), and others;
• Peptide
Platelet-derived growth factor, as well as fibroblast growth factor, epidermal growth factor, nerve growth factor, and others.
• Hormone
It contains insulin, growth factors, somatotropin, hydrocortisone, and others.
• Lipids
Serum contains small amounts of fatty acids, linoleic acid, oleic acid, ethanolamine, and phosphoethanolamine, among others.
• Other ingredients
It contains amino acids, glucose, trace elements, and other components, including trace elements such as iron, copper, and zinc, as well as certain unidentified constituents found in natural products.
The primary functions of fetal bovine serum
✔ Nutrients: Provides cells with a variety of essential nutrients.
✔ Growth factors: promote cell growth and proliferation.
✔ Antibodies: help cells defend against certain pathogens.
✔ Reduces toxicity: Certain components of culture media may be toxic to cells, and other constituents in fetal bovine serum can help neutralize or mitigate these toxic effects.
✔ Promotes intercellular interactions: Certain components in fetal bovine serum can facilitate cell–cell communication.
Main applications of fetal bovine serum
• Cell culture: As already discussed in the previous section, we will not elaborate further here.
• Vaccine production
In the production of viral vaccines and other biologics, FBS is used as a culture‑medium supplement to enhance cell growth efficiency and virus yield, for example in influenza vaccines and rabies vaccines.
• Gene therapy and drug screening
When performing gene transfection, gene editing, or drug‑sensitivity assays, FBS provides a stable culture environment that helps maintain consistent cellular expression or responsiveness, thereby enhancing experimental reliability and reproducibility.
• Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering
In the construction of tissue-engineering scaffolds and during the induction of stem cells to differentiate into specific cell types, FBS provides essential growth factors and environmental signals that promote directed cell differentiation and tissue formation.
• Biopharmaceuticals
When producing monoclonal antibodies, cytokines, enzymes, and other recombinant proteins, FBS, as a culture medium supplement, helps enhance cellular productivity and product quality.
Product Selection for Fetal Bovine Serum (Li Ji Bio)
[Product] Premium Fetal Bovine Serum
[Item Number] AC03L155
[Specification] 500 mL
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