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Antibiotics in Cell Culture
Protect your cells with Gibco cell culture antibiotics
Antibiotics are secondary metabolites that inhibit the growth of, or actively kill, prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. In cell culture, there are two main concerns regarding contamination: the contamination of cell cultures with microbiological organisms and the contamination of one cell line with another. Both types of contamination are extremely prevalent, and the possibility of contamination—and the impact on results—cannot be underestimated.
Therefore, antibiotics and antimycotics are often added to cell culture media to help prevent the growth of contaminating bacteria, fungi, and mycoplasma. In addition, certain selection antibiotics are used to select and establish eukaryotic cells modified by genetic engineering.
Shop all antibiotics View contamination selection guide View transfection selection guide
Antibiotics in cell culture should be used at optimal concentrations, but should not be used as a replacement of sterile practice.
NOTE: Antibiotics and antimycotics can be toxic to certain cell lines. Therefore, it is essential to first perform a dose-response test to determine the level at which toxicity begins.
To learn more, please visit our protocols page on the use of antibiotics for cell culture contamination.
Cell culture antibiotics for contamination
Thermo Fisher Scientific offers a variety of antibiotics for cell culture, including those for control of biological contamination arising from bacteria, yeast, fungi, and mycoplasma.
| Name | Effective against | Form | Cat. No. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gram-positive bacteria | Gram-negative bacteria | Yeasts | Molds | Mycoplasma | |||
| Antibiotic-antimycotic See detailsSolution containing the antibiotics penicillin (inhibitor of bacterial cell wall synthesis) and streptomycin (inhibitor of bacterial protein synthesis) as well as the antimycotic Amphotericin B (acts on fungal cell membrane) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Liquid | 15240096 | |
| Ampicillin See detailsBroad-spectrum antibiotic that interferes with bacterial cell wall synthesis | ✓ | ✓ | Powder | 11593027 | |||
| Amphotericin B See detailsAntifungal drug that prevents growth of fungi by causing increased fungal plasma membrane permeability | ✓ | ✓ | Liquid | 15290018 | |||
| Carbenicillin disodium salt See detailsSemi-synthetic penicillin antibiotic that uses the same mechanism of action as ampicillin (i.e., interference of cell wall synthesis), but is more stable in cell culture | ✓ | ✓ | Powder | 10177012 | |||
| Gentamicin See detailsBroad-spectrum aminoglycoside antibiotic that inhibits bacterial protein synthesis | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Liquid | 15710064 (10 mg/mL) | ||
| 15750060 (50 mg/mL) | |||||||
| Gentamicin/Amphotericin solution See detailsSolution containing the broad-spectrum antibiotic gentamicin (inhibitor of bacterial protein synthesis) and the antimycotic Amphotericin B (acts on fungal cell membrane) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Liquid | R01510 |
| Kanamycin sulfate See detailsBroad-spectrum aminoglycoside antibiotic that inhibits bacterial protein synthesis | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Powder | 11815024 | ||
| Liquid | 15160054 | ||||||
| Neomycin sulfate See detailsBroad-spectrum aminoglycoside antibiotic that inhibits bacterial protein synthesis | ✓ | ✓ | Powder | 21810031 | |||
| Penicillin streptomycin See detailsSolution containing the antibiotics penicillin (inhibitor of cell wall synthesis) and streptomycin (inhibitor of protein synthesis) | ✓ | ✓ | Liquid | 15070063 (5,000 U/mL) | |||
| 15140122 (10,000 U/mL) | |||||||
| Penicillin-streptomycin-glutamine See detailsSolution containing the antibiotic penicillin (inhibitor of cell wall synthesis), streptomycin (inhibitor of protein synthesis) as well as the essential nutrient L-glutamine | ✓ | ✓ | Liquid | 10378016 | |||
| Penicillin-streptomycin-neomycin See detailsSolution containing the antibiotics penicillin (inhibitor of cell wall synthesis), as well as streptomycin and neomycin (inhibitors of protein synthesis) | ✓ | ✓ | Liquid | 15640055 | |||
| Polymyxin B sulfate See detailsPolypeptide antibiotic that interferes with bacterial cell membrane permeability | ✓ | Powder | 21850029 | ||||
| Streptomycin sulfate See detailsBroad-spectrum aminoglycoside antibiotic that inhibits bacterial protein synthesis | ✓ | ✓ | Powder | 11860038 | |||
| Fosmidomycin See detailsPhosphonate antibiotic that inhibits isoprene synthesis | ✓ | Powder | F23103 | ||||
Cell culture antibiotics for selection and cell line development
In addition to antibiotics used in media for contamination prevention, Thermo Fisher Scientific also offers a variety of antibiotics used for selection in transfection and cell line development.
| Name | Common selection usage | Form | Cat. No. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prokaryotic | Eukaryotic mammalian | Eukaryotic plant | Eukaryotic yeast | |||
| Mycophenolic acid See details Acts as an inhibitor of the guanosine monophosphate pathway and is used to select transfected animal cells expressing the E. coli gene for xanthine guanine phosphoribosyltransferase | ✓ | ✓ | Powder | 11814019 | ||
| Blasticidin S HCl See detailsInhibits protein synthesis and is used to select cells expressing the resistance genes BSR or BSD Note: this antibiotic is most commonly used for selection in mammalian cells | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Liquid | A1113902 |
| Powder | R21001 | |||||
| Geneticin (G418 Sulfate) See detailsBlocks prokaryotic and eukaryotic protein synthesis and is used to select for cells expressing the neomycin resistance gene | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Liquid | 10131035 |
| Powder | 11811023 | |||||
| Hygromycin B See detailsInhibits prokaryotic and eukaryotic protein synthesis and is used to select for cells transformed with the resistance gene hph Note: Hygromycin B uses a mode of action that is distinct from that of geneticin, Blasticidin S, or zeocin, making it ideal for dual-selection experiments involving another selection reagent | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Liquid | 10687010 |
| Puromycin See detailsInhibits prokaryotic and eukaryotic protein synthesis and is used to select for resistant cells expressing the puromycin N-acetyltransferase gene (pac) | ✓ | ✓ | Liquid | A1113802 | ||
| Zeocin See detailsDestroys DNA molecules and is used to select for cells expressing the resistance gene Sh ble Note: Because zeocin is active in both bacterial and mammalian cells, vectors can be designed that carry only one drug resistance marker, reducing overall vector size | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Liquid | R25005 |
| Actinomycin D See detailsActs as a selection agent by inhibiting nucleic acid synthesis in nonresistant cells | ✓ | Powder | 11805017 | |||
| Ampicillin See detailsInterferes with bacterial cell wall synthesis and can be used to select for cells expressing the bla gene, which produces beta-lactamase, a protein that inactivates ampicillin’s beta-lactam ring Note: Sometimes beta-lactamase produced by the bacteria is secreted into the medium, inactivating ampicillin in the medium and allowing the growth of satellite colonies | ✓ | Powder | 11593027 | |||
| Carbenicillin disodium salt See detailsUses the same mechanism of action as ampicillin and is used to select for resistant Agrobacterium and E. coli expressing the beta-lactamase (bla) gene Note: Carbenicillin is broken down more slowly by beta-lactamase as compared to ampicillin and is more stable in culture | ✓ | Powder | 10177012 | |||
| Neomycin sulfate See detailsInhibits bacterial protein synthesis and is used to select for cells expressing a neomycin resistance gene | ✓ | Powder | 21810031 | |||
| Polymyxin B sulfate See detailsActs as a selection agent by interfering with bacterial cell membrane permeability in nonresistant cells | ✓ | Powder | 21850029 | |||
| Streptomycin sulfate See detailsActs as a selection agent by inhibiting bacterial protein synthesis in nonresistant cells | ✓ | Powder | 11860038 | |||
| Kanamycin sulfate See detailsInhibits bacterial protein synthesis and can be used to select for cells that have been transformed with a kanamycin-resistant gene | ✓ | Powder | 11815024 | |||
| Liquid | 15160054 | |||||
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