I am looking for a mammalian cell media with a few specific supplements, but it is not available for purchase from any vendor. The lab-grade supplements are pretty expensive and are sold in either huge tubs or in tiny amounts. I thought to just buy the required supplements (L-arginine and L-lysine) in the pharmacy and add appropriate amount to my media. Do you think it is ok? I shouldn't list the source of supplements when it is time to publish? The pack size and purity of pharmacy-sold supplements seem to be suitable for my experiment.
Cheers,
Maria
Whatever you end up doing, not listing the source would not be OK. Think about it, if someone had to replicate it, this could be an important variable that needs to be considered. You should always disclose your experimental methods as much as you can, replication is crucial in science.
Just be aware that pharmacy sold supplements are often mixed with other compounds to aid in tablet formation or to prolong the shelf life of the active ingredient. You definitely need to list the source of all reagents.
I don't know about Australia, but in the USA these sorts of dietary supplements are not well-regulated. Many do not contain the listed molecules/compounds at the advertised concentration and some don't contain them at all.
One reason that research-grade reagents cost so much is that they are well-regulated and regularly quality control tested.
Unless the purpose of the project is to test if dietary supplements are a suitable media additive, just buy these from the scientific company.