I am trying to grow cancer cells and do MTT assay for drug screening. Are there any alternatives to FBS? I know that FBS and FCS are widely used for cell culturing, but I am looking for other options.
I found one online and got it ordered:
https://www.zen-bio.com/products/serum/fetal-bovine-serum.php
But the cells are not growing properly in this.
Any suggestions in this regard?
Check: Article Long-term growth comparison studies of FBS and FBS alternati...
When you switch a cell line from fetal calf serum to serum-free medium, you must do it gradually, not all at once, to give the cells a chance to adapt. Each time you split the culture, increase the proportion of serum-free medium and decrease the proportion of FCS.
Growth rate and cell viability in general also change drastically
We found a 30-70% drop in MCF-7 cell viability just by culturing cells in cell cultre medium suppl. With 10% human serum ( from healthy and breast cancer bearing women) when compared to FBS
You can try thermofisher product for serum free media
https://www.thermofisher.com/in/en/home/life-science/cell-culture/mammalian-cell-culture/serum-free-media. As Adam Shapiro has mentioned, you have to slowly adapt the cultures to serum free conditions. You can also try using DMEM/Ham's F-12 (50:50) supplemented with growth factors and hormones.
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