A. We treat FBS with Dextran-coated Charcoal to:
1. Remove Steroid Hormones
- FBS naturally contains hormones like estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and cortisol. These can affect hormone receptor activity in experiments.
- Removing them helps researchers study the effects of exogenous hormones without interference.
2. Reduce Lipophilic Compounds
- Charcoal absorbs small hydrophobic molecules such as vitamins, free fatty acids, and some cytokines.
- This is important in studies where lipid signaling or metabolism needs to be controlled.
3. Minimize Growth Factor Influence
- Some growth factors in FBS can activate signaling pathways, affecting experimental outcomes.
- By stripping these, researchers can precisely add and study specific growth factors.
4. Be used in hormone response and some specific Cancer research
- Used in endocrine research, such as estrogen receptor studies in breast cancer (MCF-7 cells) or androgen receptor studies in prostate cancer (LNCaP cells).
- Also important in stem cell differentiation and neuroscience, where hormones can influence cell fate.
B. How Does Charcoal-Dextran Work?
- Activated charcoal binds to steroids and lipophilic molecules.
- Dextran helps keep proteins and other essential nutrients intact.
- The process involves incubation and filtration, ensuring that unwanted molecules are removed while keeping the serum usable for cell culture. C. How do we approve the efficiency of the treatment?
We measure the levels of steroid based hormone (e.g. Testosterone) pre- and post-treatment to approve dramatic reduction of the hormone levels.
A. We treat FBS with Dextran-coated Charcoal to:
1. Remove Steroid Hormones
o FBS naturally contains hormones like estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and cortisol. These can affect hormone receptor activity in experiments.
o Removing them helps researchers study the effects of exogenous hormones without interference.
2. Reduce Lipophilic Compounds
o Charcoal absorbs small hydrophobic molecules such as vitamins, free fatty acids, and some cytokines.
o This is important in studies where lipid signalling or metabolism needs to be controlled.
3. Minimize Growth Factor Influence
o Some growth factors in FBS can activate signalling pathways, affecting experimental outcomes.
o By stripping these, researchers can precisely add and study specific growth factors.
4. Be used in hormone response and some specific Cancer research
o Used in endocrine research, such as estrogen receptor studies in breast cancer (MCF-7 cells) or androgen receptor studies in prostate cancer (LNCaP cells).
o Also important in stem cell differentiation and neuroscience, where hormones can influence cell fate.
B. How Does Charcoal-Dextran Work?
- Activated charcoal binds to steroids and lipophilic molecules.
- Dextran helps keep proteins and other essential nutrients intact.
- The process involves incubation and filtration, ensuring that unwanted molecules are removed while keeping the serum usable for cell culture.
C. How do we approve the efficiency of the treatment?
We measure the levels of steroid based hormone (e.g. Testosterone) pre- and post-treatment to approve dramatic reduction of the hormone levels.
