Irradiation of Fetal Bovine Serum

Guidelines On The Irradiation of Fetal Bovine Serum and Bovine Serum

Gamma irradiation can be done to serum orders prior to shipping. See the bottom of this page for more details. 

Gamma irradiation is the most commonly used method for viral inactivation of bovine serum as a means of obtaining a safe but biologically active product. High-energy photons are emitted from an isotope source that disrupts the biological process by damaging DNA and other cellular structures which inactivates any potential microorganisms.

The ability to appropriately irradiate bovine serum depends on several complex factors such as serum characteristics, design of the packaging, and volume of the serum. In addition, frozen bovine serum present a unique challenges. At Atlas Biologicals to overcome these challenges, a proprietary reference dose mapping study is performed to demonstrate that an accurate, specified dose is received throughout the mass of the product while maintaining serum performance. To demonstrate effectiveness of gamma irradiation, a viral inactivation study has also been performed. Traditional irradiation processes will not be sufficient to achieve required irradiation dose throughout the mass of frozen bovine serum and will be ineffective at viral inactivation of adventitious agents.

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At Atlas Biologicals we believe a better serum will lead to better science. Information is gathered during our radiation validation process and can be available during supplier audits. Certificates of irradiation produced by our contract radiation facility and Atlas Biologicals are maintained with the device history file. If you have any further technical question please contact our Atlas Biologicals team at 866.222.8988 or sales@atlasbiocom and we would be happy to assist you.