Merck, A3782-5G, Albumin from human serum

Albumin is the most abundant protein in blood plasma, produced in the liver. Albumin is a known carrier of fatty acids (FA). Thus control over specific FA′s for cell culture is important, as different cell lines can differ in their sensitivity to particular fatty acids. Fatty acid-free human serum albumin (HSA) is therefore useful for cell culture studies where specific fatty acid content must be strictly controlled, so that researchers can use particular fatty acids specific to their cell lines. Fatty acid-free albumin also allows for optimal and maximum binding sites for using specific fatty acids in cell culture. The use of FA-free HSA also addresses concerns about endogenous FA′s potentially in non-FA-free HSA.