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Human Serum

Human serum is added to cell culture media as a supplement.

Serum is the fluid that remains once clotting factors are removed from blood plasma. Serum is a common supplement in cell culture media and provides a mix of hormones, growth and attachment factors, buffering agents, and other nutritional components. Some studies have determined that human serum is better suited than FBS for certain human cell culture applications, such as cell invasion studies and the formation of spheroids. Our human serum for cell culture is tested for the presence of viruses, bacteria, hemoglobin, and toxins, and then serially filtered under sterile conditions.

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Product Number
Product Description
Pricing
H6914
Human Serum, (from male AB clotted whole blood), USA origin, sterile-filtered
H5667
Human Serum, Heat Inactivated (from male AB clotted whole blood), USA origin, sterile-filtered
S5393
Serum minus IgA/IgM/IgG human, lyophilized powder
S1764
Complement sera human, lyophilized powder
P2918
Human Serum, from platelet poor human plasma, sterile-filtered, (mycoplasma tested, virus tested)
S7023
Sera human, frozen liquid
C1163
Complement C5 deficient serum human, for complement assays
C9473
Complement Serum Standard human, aqueous solution
S5519
Lipoprotein Deficient Serum from human plasma, sterile-filtered, frozen liquid
SAE0012
Hypo-Opticlear Human Sera
S2257
Sera human, lyophilized powder (from clotted whole blood)
S5143
Serum minus IgG human, lyophilized powder
C8788
Complement C3 deficient serum human, substrate serum for C3 activity
C1288
Complement C6 deficient serum human, for complement assays
C1413
Complement C7 deficient serum human, for complement assays
BCR637
Human serum (Al, Se, Zn), BCR®, certified reference material
BCR639
Human serum (Al, Se, Zn), BCR®, certified reference material
BCR638
Human serum (Al, Se, Zn), BCR®, certified reference material
BCR304
Human serum (Ca, Mg, Li), BCR®, certified reference material
C0913
Complement C2 deficient serum human, for complement assays
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Human AB Serum

Human AB serum is used for culturing human cell lines, including human stem cell lines. Human AB serum is prepared from whole blood that is allowed to clot naturally. Human serum from clotted whole blood is used most frequently, as it contains more growth factors. AB human serum may also be plasma-derived, and is prepared from whole blood that is not allowed to coagulate. Once the plasma is separated, it is then treated with calcium to activate the clotting cascade, and centrifuged to extract serum. This preparation is used when testing for growth factors. Heat inactivated human AB serum is available in both formats.

Heat-Inactivated Human Serum

Adult serum contains serum complement, which can be harmful to some cells, or have deleterious effects in downstream immunoassays. Heat inactivation of serum is performed to inactivate complement and is mainly used for culturing hematopoietic cells, or when performing immunological assays such as mixed-lymphocyte reactions or neutralization assays. We offer heat inactivated human AB serum from plasma and clotted whole blood.

Complement-Depleted Human Serum

Human serum lacking a specific complement protein is also available. Complement-depleted human serum is prepared by immunoadsorption. For complement assays, we offer C4-complement-deficient serum from guinea pig, and human serum deficient in the following complement proteins:

  • C2-deficient
  • C3-deficient
  • C5-deficient
  • C6-deficient
  • C7-deficient
  • C8-deficient

Our complete offering also includes specific complement proteins isolated from sera.

Applications for Human Serum

Human serum from blood type AB donors lacks antibodies specific for both A and B blood-type antigens, making it suitable for transplantation and cell therapy. Other biotechnical and biopharmaceutical applications include tissue engineering and the expansion of mesenchymal stem cells from adipose tissue, or of mesenchymal stromal cells from human bone marrow. In addition, AB serum is essential for expanding peripheral blood-derived NK cells, and for enhancing pre-transplant human islet culture.

Related Product Literature

Related Product Categories

Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS)
FBS, or fetal bovine serum (also called FCS) is one of the most important supplements for mammalian cell culture. Choose FBS grade based on documentation requirements and application specificity.
Sera
Origin-certified, quality-controlled cell culture sera include FBS, other bovine sera, human serum, and sera from diverse animal species, rigorously screened for contaminants and performance-tested in culture.
(Other) Sera
Although FBS is the most common serum variety used for cell culture, adult and newborn bovine serum and sera from other species are alternatives for cell culture supplementation.
Classical Media & Buffers
Cell culture media formulations have been optimized over decades of research in response to diverse cellular physiology. Select media such as DMEM, MEM, RPMI-1640, Ham’s F-10 & F-12 formulations, as well as serum-free solutions such as M199.
Supplements for Cell Culture
Cell culture supplements enable the customization of media with defined characteristics to support specific applications and serum-free culture needs. Our culture-grade supplements include ITS formulations, amino acids, vitamins, antibiotics, and reagents qualified for hybridoma and insect cell culture.
Stem Cells
Our complete range of ES and iPS cell-qualified products includes stem cell lines and media for differentiation and maturation, and provides stem cell researchers with convenient and cost-effective solutions for the reliable culture of pluripotent stem cells.
Mammalian Cell Lines
Cell lines from human and other mammalian species are essential for modeling disease and biological systems, and are critical tools for protein, antibody, virus, and vaccine production. We offer authenticated, contaminant-free cell lines, many in partnership with ECACC.
Primary Cells
Primary cells are derived directly from living tissue and closely replicate the physiology of biological systems. Our collection includes blood, patient tumor xenografts, and hepatocytes essential for drug screening and ADME/Tox studies.

Related Applications

Mammalian Cell Culture
Applications, principles, and methods for in vitro mammalian cell culture including links to articles, protocols, and videos for proper aseptic technique, passaging and subculturing, and culture media considerations.
Primary Cell Culture
Primary cells isolated directly from human and animal sources maintain physiological relevance of the tissues from which they are derived, and are used for ADME/Tox screening. Find applications and methods for culturing mammalian primary cells in vitro.
Stem Cell Culture
An overview of different stem cell types, stem cell culture basics and stem cell applications in basic research and clinical research applications, such as tissue regeneration, genetic diseases and cancer.
Cell Culture Media Preparation
Culture media preparation for in vitro cell cultivation including preparation of different media formats, sterilization methods, cell growth and regulation supplements, media storage and use.
Cell Growth & Maintenance
A synopsis of the conditions, media, nutrients, cultureware, and environments required for successful propagation of mammalian and yeast cells. Nutrient reagents, sterile technique and filtration, and requirements for 2D, 3D, and suspension cultures are described.
Cell Culture Troubleshooting
Expert tips for correcting common problems with cell culture including bacterial and fungal contamination, debris in culture media, cell detachment or clumping, slow growth, and low viability.
Cell-Based Assays
Cellular assays, or cell-based assays, are essential tools for measuring cell health, viability, proliferation, migration, invasion, chemotaxis, apoptosis, angiogenesis, oxidative stress, cell signaling and live cell analysis.
3D Cell Culture
Applications, principles, and techniques for three-dimensional (3D) cell culture. Includes techniques and descriptions of scaffold and scaffold-free methods matrices for the culture of complex in vitro models including organoids and spheroids.
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