Fetal bovine serum Fetal bovine serum Fetal bovine serum (FBS) comes from the blood drawn from a bovine fetus via a closed system of collection at the slaughterhouse. Fetal bovine serum is the most widely used serum-supplement for the in vitro cell culture of eukaryotic cells. This is due to it having a very low level of antibodies and containing more growth factors, allowing for versatility in many different cell culture applications. The globular protein, bovine serum albumin (BSA), is a major component of fetal bovine serum. The rich variety of proteins in fetal bovine serum maintains cultured cells in a medium in
Activated clotting time of comparison due to inconsistencies between the source and formulation of the activator being used. It is usually ordered in situations where the partial thromboplastin time (PTT) test may take an excessive amount of time to process or is not clinically useful. Prolongation of the ACT may indicate a deficiency in coagulation factors, thrombocytopenia or platelet dysfunction. Clotting time measurements can be affected by other drugs that such as Warfarin, aprotinin and GPIIb/IIIa inhibitors and may also be affected by physical perturbations to the body such as hypothermia, hypervolemia or hypovolemia. Activated clotting time Activated clotting time (ACT), also known