Through negative testing for mycoplasma, viruses, bacteria, and fungi.

Quality Control

We process our FBS in single containers and triple 0.1 ¦Ì sterile filter it. This eliminates any cross contamination potential.

Package

Custom serum packages available including charcoal treated, heat inactivated, and low endotoxin levels. ES packaged in 200mL , or custom containers that may indicate toxic components in the serum.

Horse Serum in Cell Culture and Induction

1. Applications in Cell Culture

1.1 Stem Cell Culture  

   1.1.1 Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs): Horse serum is commonly used for expanding equine, canine or human MSCs as it may better mimic certain species'' physiological environment.  

   1.1.2 Embryonic Stem Cells (ESCs): Used in some studies to maintain stem cell pluripotency (requires combination with growth factors).  

1.2 Primary Cell Culture  

   1.2.1 Neural Cells: Including neurons or glial cells in primary culture, where horse serum may provide more suitable neurotrophic factors.  

   1.2.2 Muscle Cells: Proliferation and differentiation of myoblasts or skeletal muscle cells.  

   1.2.3 Hematopoietic Cells: Culture of certain hematopoietic progenitor cells (requires combination with other cytokines).  

1.3 Insect Cell Culture  

   1.3.1 Certain baculovirus expression systems (like Sf9 cells) may incorporate horse serum to enhance protein expression efficiency.  

1.4 Other Specialized Cells  

   1.4.1 Endothelial Cells: Adhesion and proliferation of vascular endothelial cells.  

   1.4.2 Cancer Cells: Certain tumor cell lines (including equine or canine-derived ones) may adapt better to horse serum.  

2. Applications in Cell Induction/Differentiation  

2.1 Myocyte Differentiation  

   2.1.1 Horse serum (especially at high concentrations like 10-20%) is often combined with low-serum or serum-free media to induce myoblast differentiation into myotubes (e.g., C2C12 cell line).  

2.2 Neural Differentiation  

   2.2.1 Used with retinoic acid (RA) or growth factors (like BDNF) to promote neuronal differentiation of neural precursor cells.  

2.3 Chondrocyte Differentiation  

   2.3.1 Supports cartilage formation in 3D culture systems (like micromass cultures).  

2.4 Hematopoietic Differentiation  

   2.4.1 Helps mimic the in vivo microenvironment to support directed differentiation of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells.  

3. Cases Replacing Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS)  

3.1 Species-Specific Requirements: Equine cell culture (including horse stem cells or veterinary research) may perform better with horse serum.  

3.2 Ethical/Regulatory Restrictions: Some fields (like vaccine production) may prefer non-bovine serum to avoid BSE risks.  

3.3 Cost Considerations: Horse serum may be more economical than FBS in certain regions.  

4. Notes  

4.1 Batch Variability: Like FBS, different batches should be tested for growth-promoting activity.  

4.2 Heat Inactivation: Some experiments require 56¡ãC heat inactivation to deactivate complement (though this may degrade some growth factors).  

4.3 Serum-Free Trend: With advances in serum-free media, serum use is declining but horse serum remains essential in specific scenarios.  

Tested cell types

This serum product has been successfully applied in the cultivation of the following cell lines:

1. MIA-PACA-2 (human pancreatic carcinoma cell line)

2. NK-92 (human natural killer cell line)

3. PATU8988t/PATU8988 (human pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell line)

4. EL-4 (mouse T lymphocyte cell line)

5. L929 (mouse fibroblast cell line)

6. NCTC1469/NCTC CLONE 1469 (mouse liver cell line)

7. TM3 (mouse testicular Leydig cell line)

8. TM4 (mouse testicular Sertoli cell line)

9. TtT/GF (mouse pituitary folliculostellate cell line)

10. C6 (rat glioma cell line)

11. H4-II-E-C3 (rat hepatoma cell line)

12. C2C12 (mouse myoblast cell line)

Note: The product has demonstrated successful growth support for these cell lines in standard culture conditions. For optimal results, we recommend testing the serum with your specific cell culture protocol.

Order Information