Skip to Content
Merck
All Photos(1)

Key Documents

F2442

Sigma-Aldrich

Fetal Bovine Serum

USA origin, sterile-filtered, suitable for cell culture, suitable for hybridoma

Synonym(s):

Fetal Bovine Sera, Fetal Calf Serum, FBS, FCS, sera, serum

Sign Into View Organizational & Contract Pricing


About This Item

MDL number:
UNSPSC Code:
12352207
eCl@ss:
32160409
NACRES:
NA.71

biological source

bovine fetus

sterility

sterile-filtered

product line

FBS Classic

composition

Bovine IgG, ≤1 mg/mL
Hemoglobin, ≤20 mg/dL

origin

USA origin

technique(s)

cell culture | hybridoma: suitable
cell culture | mammalian: suitable

impurities

≤10 EU/mL endotoxin

shipped in

dry ice

storage temp.

−20°C

Looking for similar products? Visit Product Comparison Guide

General description

Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) is a complex mixture with low and high molecular weight biomolecules exhibiting optimal growth-enhancing and growth-suppressing functions. FBS contains molecules, such as growth factors, proteins, vitamins, trace elements, hormones etc. These molecules are important for the growth and maintenance of cells. It is a common supplement for cell culture media. FBS is derived from the calf blood. It is devoid of fibrin and clotting factors. Heat inactivation of FBS blocks the complement system. FBS derived from clotted blood is the most widely used undefined supplement in eukaryotic, especially mammalian, cell culture. It is typically used with the classical media that were developed in the 1950s and 1960s. These include many popular media such as Minimum Essential Medium (MEM), Dulbecco′s Modified Eagles Media (DME, DMEM); Iscove′s Modified Eagles Medium (IMDM), M199 and Roswell Park Memorial Institute medium, RPMI-1640.

Application

Fetal Bovine Serum has also been used as a component of:
  • perivascular-resident macrophage-like melanocytes (PVM/M) growth medium
  • synthetic oviduct fluid (SOF)
  • Eagle′s minimum essential medium (EMEM)
  • neurobasal medium
  • Hyclone McCoys 5 A medium
  • Hanks medium

Biochem/physiol Actions

FBS remains a popular media supplement because it provides a wide array of functions in cell culture. FBS delivers nutrients, growth and attachment factors and protects cells from oxidative damage and apoptosis by mechanisms that are difficult to reproduce in serum-free media (SFM) systems.

Analysis Note

  • Endotoxin and hemoglobin tested
  • Tested for the presence of bacteria, virus, and mycoplasma
  • Triple filtered with 0.1 micron membrane under aseptic conditions

Other Notes

Tested for the presence of bacteria, virus, mycoplasma, endotoxin and for hemoglobin content. Triple filtered with 0.1 micron membrane under aseptic conditions.

Storage Class Code

10 - Combustible liquids

WGK

WGK 3

Flash Point(F)

Not applicable

Flash Point(C)

Not applicable

Personal Protective Equipment

dust mask type N95 (US), Eyeshields, Gloves

Certificates of Analysis (COA)

Search for Certificates of Analysis (COA) by entering the products Lot/Batch Number. Lot and Batch Numbers can be found on a product’s label following the words ‘Lot’ or ‘Batch’.

Already Own This Product?

Find documentation for the products that you have recently purchased in the Document Library.

Visit the Document Library

Inhibiting tyrosine phosphorylation of protein kinase Cd (PKCd) protects the salivary gland from radiation damage.
Wie SM et al.
The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 289, 10900-10900 (2014)
Axenic Procyclic Culture of L. tropica and L. donovani in Culture of FBS-free Medium
Mosa FM, et al.
Ife Journal of Science, 4B, 3088-3093 (2015)
MENT, a heterochromatin protein that mediates higher order chromatin folding, is a new serpin family member.
Grigoryev SA et al.
The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 274, 5626-5626 (1999)
Optimization of chemically defined cell culture media--replacing fetal bovine serum in mammalian in vitro methods.
van der Valk J et al.
Toxicology in vitro, 24, 1053-1053 (2010)
Cunzhi Yu et al.
Frontiers in pharmacology, 8, 832-832 (2017-12-07)
Low solubility, tissue accumulation, and toxicity are chief obstacles to developing triptolide derivatives, so a better understanding of the pharmacokinetics and toxicity of triptolide derivatives will help with these limitations. To address this, we studied pharmacokinetics and toxicity of (5R)-5-hydroxytriptolide

Articles

High titer lentiviral particles for LC3 variants used for live cell analysis of cellular autophagy.

Calcium is an ionically stable divalent cation with important beneficial and toxic properties in cell culture. It is a component of a wide range of cell culture media.

Millicell® hanging cell culture inserts for staining and microscopic analysis directly from the insert. Learn to utilize hanging cell culture inserts in barrier measurements.

Review the basics of using fetal bovine (or calf) serum for cell culture and how sourcing and regulations affect the price of sera for cell-based assays.

Protocols

Detailed procedure for how to perform a lentiviral transduction of MISSION shRNA lentiviral particles to achieve a stable long term silencing and phenotypic change.

Learn how to perform cell migration assays in vitro using Millicell® hanging cell culture inserts and the suspension T-cell lines Jurkat and primary CD4+ cells. Monitor migration by flow cytometry and EZ-MTT assays.

Related Content

Learn how to effectively filter fetal bovine serum (FBS) using Stericup® Quick Release vacuum filtration devices, including flow test data and analysis.

Step-by-step protocol for generating apical-out human gut organoids for microbiome, ADME/Tox, viral and gastrointestinal related disease research. See the complete organoid culture protocol.

Our broad range of the most trusted tools for cell culture includes stringently sourced and tested FBS, established media formulations, and sterile labware. Cutting-edge techniques using stem cells and 3D matrices are enabled by organoids, hydrogels, culture scaffolds, and bioinks for 3D bioprinting.

Explore our portfolio of fetal bovine serum (FBS) and determine the right FBS for your lab needs and budget. Request a serum sample.

Our team of scientists has experience in all areas of research including Life Science, Material Science, Chemical Synthesis, Chromatography, Analytical and many others.

Contact Technical Service