Animal Component Free Cell Culture Reagents

Laboratory setting where a researcher, wearing a blue glove, is holding a white microtiter plate with red wells. The plate is prominently labeled “ANIMAL COMPONENT FREE,” indicating the use of animal-free reagents in the experiment. In the background, there are racks filled with pipette tips, highlighting the precision and cleanliness of the scientific work being conducted.

Cell culture reagents that do not contain animal components drastically reduce the performance variability of scientific experiments, providing more consistent results. A more ethical and sustainable option than cell culture reagents that contain animal components, animal-free reagents also enable a smooth transition for research that is moving towards novel clinical, pharmaceutical, biotech, and manufacturing applications. Due to the absence of animal components, these reagents show little to no lot-to-lot variations and face no import restrictions. Our high-quality animal component-free (ACF), non-animal origin (NAO) and serum-free cell culture media, supplements, reagents, and growth factors have high biological activity. These reagents contain low endotoxins and are ideal for use in applications like stem cell culture, inflammation experiments, cancer cell culture, and antibody and vaccine development.

Discover answers to your frequently asked questions about animal component free reagents here.

Section Overview

Animal origin-free & Serum-free Media
Animal-free Cell Dissociation Reagents
Chemically Defined Supplements
Animal Component-free Growth Factors & Cytokines
Our ACF and NAO definitions

Animal origin-free & Serum-free Media

Stem cell researchers have transitioned to serum-free and xeno-free media and supplements to reduce the variability introduced by the undefined composition of fetal bovine serum (FBS). We offer serum-free stem cell media for a variety of stem cell types, including human ES/iPS, neural (NSC), mesenchymal (MSC) and hematopoietic (HSC) stem cells. These media and supplements are rigorously tested, ensuring superior performance and consistency in stem cell culture.

Animal-free Cell Dissociation Reagents

Some cell culture applications, such as pharmaceutical drug toxicity and efficacy testing, require high-quality ACF dissociation reagents during the experimental process. Our dissociation enzymes, when used with serum-free (or serum-containing) media, help maximize the yield of healthy and functionally viable cells. These ready-to-use solutions enable gentle disaggregation of cells, tissues, and tumors with increased plating efficiency.

Chemically Defined Supplements

Chemically defined cell culture supplements provide nutrients that promote the healthy growth of cell cultures without the safety risks from the adventitious agents associated with animal components. Our chemically defined supplements, including hormones and albumins, exhibit high purity and superior solubility. These supplements are also available in both the powder and solution formats.

Animal Component-free Growth Factors & Cytokines

Our collection of high purity growth factors and cytokines for biotech and pharmaceutical development include low endotoxin and animal component-free human, mouse, and rat recombinant reagents. These growth factors and cytokines are expressed in E. coli or in mammalian systems. Growth factors produced in HEK293 cells also offer the added advantage of authentic human glycosylation and post-translational modification patterns.

Animal-free Cell Freezing Media

When culturing cells in a serum-free environment, it is also essential to maintain serum-free conditions during cryopreservation. Animal component-free or DMSO-free cell freezing media can be used for long term storage of primary cells, stem cells, and various human cancer cell lines.

We define ACF and NAO processes and products as:

Animal Component-Free General: Animal component-free products do not contain any primary raw materials derived directly from bovine or other animal tissue or use them in the manufacturing process.
ACF Fermentation: Products containing primary raw materials that are manufactured utilizing fermentation processes and using culture medium that contains no high infectivity tissues (brain, spinal cord, eye, etc.).
Non-Animal Origin General: Non-animal origin products contain no animal origin components in any of the synthesis steps that determine the final chemical structure.
NAO Fermentation: NAO products do not contain materials of animal origin in the fermentation broth.