(ChrisCohickfromJRHBiosciencescatalogue) Serumthatisstoredat-10ºCto-40ºCisstableforextendedperiodsoftime.Itisneithernecessaryordesirabletostoreserumat-70ºC,asitdoesnotprolongtheshelflifeoftheproductandwilloftendamagethebottles.Particularcareshouldbetakenwhenthawingmaterialforusetoprotecttheintegrityoftheproductandtopreventbreakageofthebottles. Removebottlesfromthefreezerandplaceinarefrigeratororcoldroomwherethetemperatureis2ºCto8ºC. Allowserumtothawcompletelyandtoreachthetemperatureoftheenvironment.Overnightexposureisusuallyadequate. Removeserumandallowtoreachroomtemperaturepriortouse.Afterserumhasreachedroomtemperature,itcanbeprewarmedto37ºCformixingwithmedium,oritcanbeheatinactivated(seebelow). Serumshouldneverbetakenfromafrozenorrefrigeratedstateandplacedinawaterbathtoexpeditethawingorwarming.Suchhandlingcompromisesthequalityoftheserumandmaycausethebottletobreak. Manycellcultureproductsuseserumthathasbeenheatinactivatedtodestroycomplementthatmayleadtocelllysisbyantibodybinding. Thawtheserumslowly(seeabove). Prepareawaterbathlargeenoughtoaccommodatethenumberofbottlesbeingtreated.Watertemperatureshouldbe56ºC. Placebottlesofthawedseruminthewaterbath.Includeabottleofwaterofthesamesizeasthebottlesofserum;placeacalibratedThermometerinthisbottle. Bottlesshouldbeagitatedgentlyduringtheheatinactivationprocesstoensureuniformheatingthroughouttheserum. Whenthetemperatureofthebottleofwaterhasreached56ºC,begintimingtheheatinactivation.Continuetoagitatetheserum. After30minutesoftreatmentat56ºC,removetheserumfromthewaterbath.Prolongedtreatmentwillcausedeteriorationofsomecomponentsoftheserum. Heatinactivatedserumfrequentlycontainsflocculentmaterial.Thisislipoprotein;itsappearanceisanormalphenomenonandnotanindicationthatthequalityoftheserumhasbeencompromisedinanyway.SerumThawing&HeatInactivation
Howtothawserum:
Howtoheatinactivateserum: