Serum
Animal sera contain important growth factors necessary for the effective culture of mammalian cells. Serum can vary significantly, depending on the species and age of the donor animal, seasonal changes and animal diet. Fetal bovine sera tends to be relatively easy to filter while calf and adult bovine sera requires prefiltration or greater filtration area. Non-bovine sera (equine, porcine, etc) tend to have high concentrations of colloids and thus require filtration. For difficult serum, a robust clarification step using Millistak+ depth filter can be added. Depending on the nature and volume of the serum stream filters may need to be run in series to assure proper contaminant removal.
