I have some bottles of FBS (same lot number) , after its thawing I sometimes observe some gel precipitation (you can see in the attached image) which even after heat inactivation they do not dissolve and I have to take the solution part and throw the gel part away.
As I saw some difference in my cell growth at the same condition but only different in FBS condition, I am wondering that maybe some important component of FBS like growth hormone, or Albumin stuck in the gel, but I am not sure!
Do you think doing some SDSPAGE of different FBS (or medium containing FBS) could give us the impression of component loss? Or do you have any idea how I can quantify the difference between these FBS bottles, or it is not important and happen often!
Thank you all,
Hello,
This type of problem is caused because of improper thawing of FBS. Improperly thawed serum can congeal, resulting in a jelly-like substance that will not re suspend and may not be suitable for use.
During the process of thawing it is necessary to gently swirl the FBS bottle every 10 minutes in a 37 degree C water bath until the serum is completely thawed. You can even use a shaking water bath to agitate the serum while thawing. Swirl the FBS bottle after complete thaw to create uniformity throughout the bottle. Thawed serum should not be allowed to stand for long, but aliquoted into tubes and frozen as early as possible.
I would suggest that you avoid using such type of serum in culture because its quality would have been compromised due to the formation of gel precipitate.
Best.
Malcolm Nobre,
Many thanks for your answering and the good recommendation, I will apply your tip next time to see whether it helps.
Thanks again
If you thaw your bottles in a 4C fridge over 1 night, that should help you out potentially as I've never seen my serum bottles containing that gel-like substance after the bottle has thawed.
Maybe others who routinely handle dozens of bottles at a time can also chime in.
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Biological Science
- Anatomy
- Tissue