Conceptual art of a bottle of Gibco charcoal-stripped FBS over a cell

Charcoal-stripped fetal bovine serum is FBS that has been treated with activated carbon to remove non-polar/lipophilic components (i.e., steroids, growth factors, and some cytokines) regardless of molecular weight with little effect on salts, glucose, amino acids, etc. 

Charcoal-stripped FBS is used when studying the impact of steroids on cells in culture. With low levels of lipophilic components in the basal serum/media, androgens, fatty acids, or other molecules of interest can then be added at desired concentrations to study their effects.

Why researchers choose Gibco charcoal-stripped serum

Watch to discover why the removal of androgens and small molecules in charcoal-stripped FBS and dialyzed FBS are so important in cancer research.

Features of Gibco charcoal-stripped serum

  • Allows experimental control over concentrations of lipid-like components
  • Provides reduced lot-to-lot variability of serum hormone levels
  • Every lot measured for estradiol levels pre-and post-treatment (see  example COA)
  • Available in the convenient Gibco One Shot FBS 50 mL bottle format
Computer generated model of an estrogen receptor

Research areas using charcoal-stripped FBS*

  • Hormones or hormone receptors (androgens, estrogens, progesterone)
  • Cytotoxic drug response
  • Cellular signaling and reporter assays
  • Prostate and other hormone-responsive cancers

* These results are based on a review of approximately 10,000 publications using query terms based on six specialty FBS products offered by Thermo Fisher Scientific. These terms were generated by the MeSH (medical subject headings) taxonomy based on the full text of the paper.

Order charcoal-stripped FBS

Publications using Gibco charcoal-stripped FBS
  1. Kuo MT, Long Y, Tsai W-B, et al. (2020) Collaboration Between RSK-EphA2 and Gas6-Axl RTK Signaling in Arginine Starvation Response That Confers Resistance to EGFR Inhibitors. Transl Oncol 13(2):355–364.
  2. Ye C, Chen G-H, Chen X, et al. (2019) Upregulation of erythropoietin and erythropoietin receptor in castration-resistant progression of prostate cancer. Asian J Androl 22(4):422–426.
  3. Murayama N, Kazuki Y, Satoh D, et al. (2017) Induction of human cytochrome P450 3A enzymes in cultured placental cells by thalidomide and relevance to bioactivation and toxicity. J Toxicol Sci 42(3):343–348.
  4. Otsuka T, Hamada A, Iguchi K, et al. (2013) Suppression of metallothionein 3 gene expression by androgen in LNCaP prostate cancer cells. Biomed Rep 1(4):614–618.
  5. Sekine Y, Demosky SJ, Stonik JA, et al. (2010) High-density lipoprotein induces proliferation and migration of human prostate androgen-independent cancer cells by an ABCA1-dependent mechanism. Mol Cancer Res 8(9):1284–1294.

Resources

Fetal Bovine Serum Basics
Learn the basics of FBS for cell culture, including information on the FBS uses, components, and the market dynamics driving this industry.

Cell Culture Basics
Learn the fundamentals of cell culture for achieving consistent results, including laboratory setup, safety, and aseptic techniques.

Gibco iMatch Sera Lot Matching Tool 
Provide your previous Gibco FBS lot number or answer a few questions to find your ideal serum match.

Related products

Support

Find your regional sales representative
Connect with a regional FBS sales representative.

Cell Culture & Transfection Support Center
Find technical support recommendations for your cell culture and transfection workflows, including tips for experimental setup and in-depth troubleshooting help.

Need technical support?
Contact our expert team for technical and application support of laboratory products.

For Research Use or Further Manufacturing Use only. Serum and blood proteins are not for direct administration into humans or animals.

Stylesheet for Classic Wide Template adjustments