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Data base: Alternatives to Animal Serum in Cell Culture

Project Aim

The amount of different serum-free cell culture media on the market has dramatically increased in the past several years. Due to the selective applicability of these media, exhaustive and time-consuming research still has to be completed to find proven media for special cell lines. This data base which was created by zet-LSL to minimize the efforts and expenses put forth, systematically and clearly offers a summarized overview of the different systems on the market. “Alternative” media can hence be quickly found due to the aid of extensive search functions.

Project Background

Fetal serum is widely used. Serum supplies all of the necessary substances for the growth of cell cultures and can be used for the cultivation of cells from many different species. However, there are strong objections regarding the composition of and the method for extracting the serum. Generally, the chemical composition of animal serum is not exactly defined, it is subject to alterations, and for instance, can be contaminated by pathogens and antibodies. The extraction of fetal serum – ethically very questionable – is performed by cardiac punctuation while the fetus is fully conscious.

For these reasons, extensive scientific efforts are being initiated to find alternatives to animal serum. Meanwhile, there exist well-defined chemical media (nutrient solutions) with which several different cells can be cultivated. We can thus work under well defined conditions without any ethical reservations.

Our data base offers users an advantage in providing easy access to an overview of the actual product ranges from various manufacturers which do not contain fetal serum. In addition to the descriptive search for special cell lines and serum-free media, the user can also look for cell lines, which are adapted under serum-free conditions. Information concerning the origin (e.g. species, tissue, cell type, disease) is also included. As a result, the user does not need to carry out extensive research and can save lots of time.

Even in today’s scientific world it is not always possible to find a substitute for animal serum. For this reason, our data base also includes animal sera to support the user in changing over from controversial fetal serum to animal serum, which is ethically unobjectionable.

Experiment Status (finished)

Duration of the Study

July 2007 - September 2009

Participating Laboratories

zet-LSL

Financing

Pollux (private-foundation)

Please find the finished project at: www.goodcellculture.org