Production
Fetal Bovine serum is a by-product of the meat industry. Fetal bovine serum, as with the vast majority of animal serum used in cell culture, is produced from blood collected at commercial slaughterhouses from cattle bred to supply meat destined for human consumption.
The first stage of the production process for fetal bovine serum is the harvesting of blood from the bovine fetus. The blood is collected aseptically into a sterile container or blood bag and then allowed to clot. The normal method of collection is cardiac puncture, where they take a needle and insert in between the ribcage into the heart. This minimizes "the danger of serum contamination with micro-organisms from the fetus itself, and the environment". It is then centrifuged to remove the fibrin clot and the remaining blood cells from the clear yellow (straw) colored serum. The serum is frozen prior to further processing that is necessary to make it suitable for cell culture.
The second stage of processing involves filtration, typically with a sterile 0.1 micrometre membrane filter. When processed by a reputable commercial serum supplier, the sterilized fetal bovine serum is subjected to stringent quality control testing and is supplied with a detailed Certificate of Analysis. The certificate gives full test results and information concerning the origin of the serum. Certificates of Analysis vary between commercial suppliers, but each usually includes the following details: filtration statement, country of origin, cell growth performance testing, microbial sterility testing, screening for mycoplasma and virus, endotoxin, haemoglobin, IgG and total protein assays.
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