Name: Rat Red Blood Cells
Brand: Molecular Depot
SKU: B2011591
Price: 795.00 USD
Availability: InStock

<h2 data-section-id="1g8t89k" data-start="0" data-end="54">What are blood products and biofluids for research?</h2>
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Blood Products &amp; Biofluids covers research-use materials derived from whole blood and its components &mdash; plasma, serum, buffy coat preparations, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), platelet concentrates, and platelet lysates &mdash; used as cell culture supplements, isolation starting materials, and assay matrices. The category spans routine applications (serum supplementation of culture media) and specialized regenerative medicine workflows (PBMC isolation for immune cell research, platelet lysate as an FBS alternative for clinical-grade cell expansion). Human-derived products in particular are gaining attention as xeno-free alternatives to animal-derived sera, driven by ethical, regulatory, and reproducibility considerations in cell therapy translational research.
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<h2 data-start="56" data-end="832">What you will find:</h2>
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Cell culture media supplementation using fetal bovine serum (FBS)&nbsp;
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Specialized coagulation and immunology assays using Sterile animal plasma derivatives&nbsp;
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Translational clinical research workflows using Human serum alternatives&nbsp;
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High cellular viability using Endotoxin-free primary cell supplements&nbsp;
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<h2 data-section-id="1qwfxn3" data-start="1157" data-end="1202">How to choose blood products and biofluids</h2>
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Buffy coat as a starting material
A buffy coat is the white blood cell/platelet layer formed between plasma and red blood cells after centrifuging whole blood. It serves as the primary starting material for two distinct downstream products: PBMC isolation (for immune cell research) via density gradient centrifugation, and platelet lysate production (pooling typically 4 buffy coat units plus 1 plasma unit from 4 donors, yielding approximately 300 mL) for hPL manufacturing.
PBMC isolation methodology
PBMCs &mdash; the enriched lymphocyte and monocyte fraction &mdash; are isolated from buffy coats or whole blood by diluting with citrate-PBS, layering over a density gradient medium (e.g., Lymphoprep), and centrifuging (approximately 800 &times; g for 20 minutes, lowest brake setting) to collect PBMCs at the interface, separated from red blood cells and granulocytes that pellet through the gradient. This isolation methodology underlies a wide range of immunology, immune cell therapy, and infectious disease research applications.
Human platelet lysate (hPL) as an FBS alternative
hPL is produced by lysing platelets &mdash; commonly via repeated freeze-thaw cycles causing hypo-osmotic shock &mdash; followed by centrifugation (e.g., 4,000 &times; g, 15 min, 4&deg;C) and 0.2 &micro;m filtration to remove cell debris. The resulting cell-free concentrate is rich in growth factors released from platelet alpha granules, including PDGF, TGF-&beta;1, EGF, and VEGF. For mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) expansion and osteogenic differentiation, 5&ndash;10% hPL is the most frequently used concentration, compared with the conventional 10% FBS reference point.
hPL vs. FBS: composition and performance
Comparative studies of platelet lysate (PL), platelet lysate serum (PLS), and FBS in human dermal fibroblast and MSC (Wharton's jelly-derived, adipose-derived) culture found broadly similar biochemical components, growth factors, and cytokines between PL/PLS and FBS, with notable differences in fibrinogen and calcium concentration &mdash; relevant when a protocol's downstream analyses are sensitive to these specific factors.
hPL supply chain and safety trade-offs
hPL addresses FBS-related ethical concerns (bovine fetal blood collection) and bovine-origin contamination risk, but introduces its own challenges: limited supply relative to FBS demand, significant donor-to-donor variability requiring pooling from multiple donations (2 to over 50, depending on local regulation, with platelet concentrations spanning 1&times;10⁶/mL to 1&times;10⁹/mL across sources), increased pooled-product viral contamination risk, and cold-chain logistics dependence.
Emerging alternatives: porcine platelet lysate
Porcine-derived platelet lysate is under investigation as an alternative addressing hPL's supply and logistics limitations &mdash; porcine blood is an abundant agricultural by-product with strong biological similarity to human proteins. Plasma-depleted lyophilized porcine platelet lysate formats specifically target improved stability and scalability versus liquid hPL while retaining the PDGF/TGF-&beta;1/EGF/VEGF growth factor profile.
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<h2 data-section-id="1fljvas" data-start="5117" data-end="5142">Specifications context</h2>
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PBMC isolation density gradient centrifugation is commonly performed at approximately 800 &times; g for 20 minutes with minimal centrifuge brake to preserve the cell layer interface. hPL production via freeze-thaw lysis, centrifugation at 4,000 &times; g for 15 minutes at 4&deg;C, and 0.2 &micro;m PES filtration is a documented standard protocol. As of 2026, hPL at 5&ndash;10% remains the most cited platelet-derived supplement concentration for MSC expansion and osteogenic differentiation research, with porcine-derived alternatives an active area of development for scalability.
<a href="https://mbpinc.net/contact-us">Contact the expert team</a> at MBP Inc. and get high-purity blood products and biofluid reagents for your lab.

Blood Products & Biofluids

Molecular Depot

Key Specifications

Rat Red Blood Cells

Rat Red Blood Cells by Molecular Depot is a washed, freshly prepared Rat red blood cell suspension. Red blood cells are used as indicator cells in agglutination and lysis assays. It is used in hemagglutination, hemolysis and complement assays and in antibody titration. Each unit contains 10 mL. MBP supplies Molecular Depot serum and plasma products to research labs in the United States, Canada and worldwide.