The Gels & Sera working group

Why replace animal-derived products (ADPs)?

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Fetal Calf Serum (FCS), Basement Membrane Extracts (BME), and many commonly used antibodies are derived from animals and raise both ethical and scientific concerns. FCS, collected from bovine fetuses, and BME, extracted from mouse tumors, involve significant animal suffering, are non-sustainable, and suffer from batch variability and undefined composition. Similarly, many antibodies are still produced using animals, despite the availability of recombinant alternatives that offer greater consistency and reliability. Replacing these animal-derived products (ADPs) with defined, animal-free alternatives is essential for improving scientific reproducibility, supporting ethical research practices, and reducing reliance on animals in science.

What do we do for you?

How to join?

The working group primarily hosts researchers from the Utrecht Science Park, but other researchers are invited to join as well. Please move along with us and contact j.j.bajramovic@uu.nl if you are interested.