- ✓Proudly made in the USA, manufactured in house
- ✓Certificate of Analysis available for every lot
- ✓Backed by decades of cell culture and protein biochemistry expertise
- ✓Bulk pricing, purchase orders, and custom formulations welcome
PurMa™ Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS)
USA-sourced, research-grade Fetal Bovine Serum (P-FBS) that supplies the undefined growth factors and nutrients mammalian and other eukaryotic cell lines rely on.
- Made in the USA from bovine fetal blood; gamma irradiated and heat inactivated
- Every lot tested for sterility, endotoxin, and a full virus panel, with a Certificate of Analysis
- Available in three premium grades: Premium (P-FBS), Ultra-Premium (UP-FBS), and Endotoxin-Depleted (EDP-FBS)
- A widely used supplement for cell and tissue culture
Description
What Is Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS)?
PurMa Biologics’ Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) is a USA-sourced, research-grade serum derived from bovine fetal blood, supplying the undefined growth factors and nutrients cell culture laboratories rely on to grow mammalian and other eukaryotic cell lines. Every lot is gamma irradiated, heat inactivated, and tested for sterility, endotoxin, and a full virus panel — including Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus and Bovine Parvovirus — before it ships.
Not sure which serum fits your cells? See our complete guide to cell culture serum.
Comparing FBS specifically to Horse Serum? See our head-to-head comparison.
Our Serum Products
PurMa Biologics produces seven types of fetal bovine serums. The three following are considered premium:
- PurMa ™Premium Fetal Bovine Serum (P-FBS).
- PurMa™ Ultra-Premium Fetal Bovine Serum (UP-FBS).
- PurMa™ Endotoxin Depleted Fetal Bovine Serum (EDP-FBS).
PurMa™Premium FBS
- All three PurMaTM Premium FBS are of USA origin.
- Have been gamma irradiated,
- Have been heat inactivated.
- Have been vigorously analyzed with the certificate of analysis.
The major differences between P-FBS and UP-FBS
- The source of the Blood and therefore:
- Significantly higher growth by UP-FBS compared to P-FBS
- The depth of the analysis
Content of PurMa™ Premium Fetal Bovine Serum (P-FBS)
Over the years, we have tested and analyzed fetal bovine serum premium and generated our own proprietary method for separating serum from other components of the blood as well as purifying final products from raw materials. Please see the below table. We routinely test every Lot ordered. We seriously look at the following criteria: IgG, Total Protein, Iron, Percent Iron Saturation, Inorganic Phosphorus, Glucose, Alkaline Phosphatase, Potassium, Albumin, Blood Urea Nitrogen, Sodium, Calcium, Chloride, Total Bilirubin, Creatinine, Gamma Globulin, , Lactate Dehydrogenase, TIBC, SGOT, SGPT.
PurMa Biologics Performs Deep Analysis
Evaluated parameters help with adjusting various elements, and as a result, the consistency of analysis among various Lots will greatly improve.
Consistency of the ingredients among different Lots.
Purifying the serum with this high stringency and robustness of the processes will make the content of serum less variable.
Analysis
Click here for the detail analysis:Routine Pathological Analysis on PurMa Bovine and Horse Serums
References:
- The preparation of antigenic hapten-carrier conjugates: a survey. Erlanger BF. Methods Enzymol. 1980;70(A):85-104. doi: 10.1016/s0076-6879(80)70043-5. PMID:
- Development rates of male bovine nuclear transfer embryos derived from adult and fetal cells. Hill et al. 2000 May;62(5):1135-40. doi: 10.1095/biolreprod62.5.1135. PMID: 10775159.
- Optimization of chemically defined cell culture media–replacing fetal bovine serum in mammalian in vitro methods. van der Valk et al. Toxicol In Vitro. 2010 Jun;24(4):1053-63. doi: 10.1016/j.tiv.2010.03.016. Epub 2010 Mar 31. PMID: 2036204.
| Methodology | Unit measured | Accepted level | Result |
| Sterility (Current USP and EP 2.6.1 for Bacteria & Fungi) | NA | Not Detected | Not Detected |
| pH | N/A | measured | 6.58 |
| Osmolality (USP 785) mOsm/KgH2 | mOsm/KgH20 | 280-340 | 288 |
| Hemoglobin (Fleming & Woolf) | mg/dL | <25 | 12.9 |
| Endotoxin (USP 85) | EU/mL | <2.0 | <0.100 |
| Mycoplasma (Barile & Kern; Large Volume, Direct Culture) | NA | Not Detected | Not Detected |
| IgG | Elliza | Measured | 0.19 ug/ml |
| Albumin | Eliza | Measured | ≤ 4.6 g/dL |
| Virus Testing (9 CFR 113.53c) | |||
| Bovine Adenovirus | NA | Not Detected | Not Detected |
| Bovine Parvovirus | NA | Not Detected | Not Detected |
| Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus | NA | Not Detected | Not Detected |
| Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus | NA | Not Detected | Not Detected |
| Rabies | NA | Not Detected | Not Detected |
| Reovirus | NA | Not Detected | Not Detected |
| Cytopathogenic Agents (IBR) | NA | Not Detected | Not Detected |
| Hemadsorbing Agents (PI3) | NA | Not Detected | Not Detected |
| Bluetongue | NA | Not Detected | Not Detected |
Learn more: What Is Fetal Bovine Serum Used For?
Additional information
| Size | 1 x 50 ml, 1 x 500 ml |
|---|
Documents
Certificate of Analysis (COA): Available upon request for your specific order — email info@purmabiologics.com and we will send the current lot documentation.
Safety Data Sheet (SDS): Available upon request — email info@purmabiologics.com.
What our customers say about PurMa Biologics
Feedback from labs we supply, across our full catalogue.
I recently had the pleasure of interacting with Dr. Seif Azadi from Purma Biologics, and I cannot thank him enough for his expertise and prompt assistance. His deep knowledge and dedication were instrumental in meeting our laboratory’s needs with remarkable efficiency. We ordered FBS, DMEM, and Trypsin from Purma Biologics, and I’m thrilled to report that all the products have performed exceptionally well. They consistently deliver reproducible results, significantly enhancing the reliability of our experiments. Thank you, Team Purma Biologics, for your good products and support!
It’s been a pleasure working with PURMA Biologics. Their service is efficient, delivery is fast, and the quality of their products has met our expectations consistently. Very smooth collaboration overall.
PurMa products are of excellent quality and highly reliable.
I've ordered cell culture media multiple times. Great prices and excellent customer service. The ordering process was smooth, and everything arrived as expected. I'll definitely be purchasing from them again.
We buy all of our cell culture media, fetal bovine sera, and lipid-depleted sera from PurMa. The quality of their reagents is absolutely top-notch, giving us reliable, repeatable results in our experiments. We highly recommend PurMa!
We have been working with PurMa biologics for the past several years, we buy cell culture related media like DMEM F12 and EMEM and Fetal Bovine Serum. We appreciate the high quality and reasonable price, and great customer service.
6 reviews for PurMa™ Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS)
Frequently asked questions
How should I store and thaw PurMa™ Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS)?
Store at minus 20 degrees C for long term use. Thaw overnight at 2 to 8 degrees C and then bring to room temperature with occasional gentle swirling, rather than plunging straight into a 37 degree bath. Aliquot after the first thaw, because repeated freeze and thaw cycles damage growth factors and cause cryoprecipitate.
Do I need to heat inactivate it?
Only for applications sensitive to complement, such as some immunological assays. Heat inactivation at 56 degrees C for 30 minutes also reduces some growth factors, so for routine culture most labs use serum without it. Test both if your cells are sensitive.
What testing is performed on each lot?
Each lot is tested for sterility, mycoplasma and endotoxin, along with a biochemical profile and haemoglobin. Results are reported on the Certificate of Analysis for that specific lot.
What are the flakes or particles in my thawed serum?
Almost always cryoprecipitate, which is fibrin and lipoprotein coming out of solution during freezing and thawing. It is normal, does not indicate contamination, and does not affect performance. It can be removed by filtration if it interferes with your assay.
Can I reserve a specific lot for repeat orders?
Yes. Labs that validate a lot for a sensitive application can reserve volume from it. Request lot reservation through the bulk pricing form on this page and state the volume and timescale you need.
Related products
-
- Fetal Bovine Serum, Bovine Serums
Lipid-Depleted Fetal Bovine Serum (LD-FBS)
- Price range: $589.65 through $1898.36
- Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
-
- Fetal Bovine Serum, Horse Serums
Ultra-Premium Fetal Horse Serum (UP-FHS)
- Price range: $389.23 through $986.36
- Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
-
- Fetal Bovine Serum, Horse Serums
Dialyzed Fetal Horse Serum (DFHS)
- Price range: $699.89 through $1898.69
- Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
Verified Customer, OU Health Sciences Center –
Serum worked beautifully. Cells grew well and had their usual cycle time. Tissue culture medium also worked very well.
Tayyab Afzal, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation –
We bought Premium FBS and DMEM cell culture media from PurMa Biologics. We are using them for several mammalian cell line and primary cell culture and the cell growth is perfectly fine. We are totally satisfied with the product quality. Importantly as local vendor, we can have the product available as per our demand ASAP.
Anupam Mandal, OU Health Sciences Center –
Excellent
Alex Holloway, Mesogen –
This serum appears to be a high quality product and worked well for our needs. Purma has an extensive catalog for cell culturing supplies which we are glad we came across.
Tak Biotechs –
We are extremely satisfied with the quality and consistency of PURMA Biologics products. Both the FBS and cell culture media have delivered excellent performance in our applications, with reliable batch-to-batch consistency. Highly recommended for research and bioprocessing use.
Aslan Batur, Aytak Biotech –
We’ve had a great experience with PURMA Biologics products. In particular, their FBS has shown excellent consistency and performance, and their DMEM media has worked very well in our cell culture applications. Overall, very reliable quality.