# Exploring ethical, sustainable and effective foetal bovine serum alternatives for in vitro mammalian cell culture

## TL;DR

This paper reviews alternatives to foetal bovine serum in cell culture, addressing ethical and sustainability concerns.

## Contribution

The paper provides a comprehensive review and guidance on selecting FBS alternatives for mammalian cell culture.

## Key findings

- FBS alternatives include human/animal-derived, plant-based, and serum-free media.
- Quality and formulation improvements are needed for effective FBS alternatives.
- Databases and incentives could help transition away from FBS.

## Abstract

Foetal bovine serum (FBS) has been widely used as a nutrient-rich supplement in mammalian cell culture for over 6 decades; however, its usage has increasingly raised various concerns and challenges related to quality variations, unethical collection practices, supply-demand imbalance and regulatory challenges. In recent years, alternatives have been investigated to reduce or replace FBS in mammalian cell culture. Starting from a comprehensive analysis of components of FBS and their functions in cell growth, this review compares the main types of FBS alternatives, i.e., human and animal-derived, plant-based alternatives and serum free media. Future perspectives discussed include the development of application-specific FBS alternatives, improvements in the quality and specialized formulation of FBS, optimization of existing alternatives and the establishment of databases and incentive mechanisms to facilitate the transition away from FBS. Lastly, the guidance for selecting appropriate FBS alternatives is also discussed.