Suitable Alternatives to Fetal Bovine Serum in Bioproduction

This white paper from Thermo Fisher Scientific evaluates alternatives to fetal bovine serum (FBS) for routine cell culture due to rising costs and limited availability. Three substitutes—donor bovine serum (DBS), donor bovine serum with iron (DBS-iron), and newborn calf serum (NBCS)—were tested across four cell lines. Results showed that DBS-iron most closely matched FBS in supporting cell growth and viability, making it a suitable alternative for standard culture workflows. However, FBS remained superior for advanced applications such as transfection and differentiation.

Readers walk away with a clear, science-backed roadmap for evaluating and implementing alternative sera to FBS—helping them balance performance, cost, and supply stability in their bioproduction workflows.