Best practices for the use and evaluation of animal serum as a component of cell culture medium

Animal serum is a common additive for cell culture medium and is often required at 5 to 10% (v/v) for the attachment and growth of primary and continuous anchorage-dependent (monolayer) cultures. The use of animal serum in cell culture medium confers several advantages and also some risks. This article discusses the use of animal serum as a component of cell culture medium. The best practices associated with the sourcing, storage, thawing, testing, and mitigation of risk associated with the use of animal sera are among the topics described in this article.