Table 1 Summary of key challenges and limitations of FBS, human serum, human plasma and chemically defined media
From: Increasing the biomolecular relevance of cell culture practice
Supplement | Fetal bovine serum | Human serum | Human plasma | Chemically defined |
|---|---|---|---|---|
LOGISTICAL | ||||
Supply | Limited cattle inventory | Limited clinical inventory | Limited clinical inventory | Available |
Accessibility | Higher | Lower | Lower | Higher |
Commercial cost | Low | High | High | Low |
BIOLOGICAL RELEVANCE | ||||
Human physiology | Not representative | Representative | Representative | Not representative |
Post-fetal physiology | Not representative | Representative | Representative | Not representative |
Cell physiology | Not representative | Not representative | Representative | Not representative |
Compatibility with cell therapy | Low | High | High | High |
Immunogenic responses | Possible xenogeneic immune responses | Possible allogeneic immune responses | Possible allogeneic immune responses | Not applicable |
CELL EXPANSION | ||||
Cell proliferation | Higher | Higher | Lower | Lower |
Complement lysis | Unlikely (fetal origin) | Possible | Possible | Not applicable |
Clotting | Not applicable | Not applicable | Possible | Not applicable |
Viral (human) contaminants | Unlikely | Possible | Possible | Unlikely |
Batch variability | High | High | High | Low |
ETHICAL | ||||
Human and animal ethics | Animal rights (for example, lack of anesthesia) | Competing with patient needs | Competing with patient needs | Not applicable |