BSA in Microbial Culture

Bovine serum albumin, more commonly known as BSA, is a serum albumin protein used as a nutrient in cell and microbial culture. It's also commonly used in restriction digest, the process in molecular biology that prepares DNA for analysis or other processing. BSA is used to stabilize some enzymes during the digestion of DNA. It also prevents adhesion of the enzyme to vessels and reaction tubes.

Bovine serum albumin can also be used to determine the quantity of other proteins. You simply compare an unknown quantity of a protein to known amounts of BSA. Due to a high degree of stability, bovine serum albumin lacks effect in most biochemical reactions. Large quantities of BSA can be prepared from the blood of slaughtered cattle, a cheap by-product. Bovine serum albumin is inexpensive, so it's ideal for research.

Bovine serum albumin works as a large globular protein with a high degree of amino acids. The physical properties of BSA are well known and predictable, making it a handy test model in a scientific lab. BSA works to bind fatty acids, other lipids and flavor compounds. It's also a very functional protein. In addition to scientific research, bovine serum albumin is also common in the food industry.

Though its ability to bind with lipid binding properties is its primary biological function, how it does so has not been clearly elucidated. Some speculate that BSA plays a role in mediating lipid oxidation. Bovine serum albumin has been observed to protect lipids against phenolic induced oxidation.

BSA essentially provides bulk protein for the cellular medium, feeding the cell so it is stronger and healthier. Bovine serum albumin provides a broad spectrum of macromolecules, attachment factors and nutrients. Serum is an ill defined component in cell culture, so there's no push to replace it with more defined components. BSA is stable, cheap, and provides a way to measure the reactions of other enzymes and proteins.

Bovine serum albumin grew out of the process that was first developed for human albumin in medical use. That process has since transferred to the bovine industry as a cheap filler and stabilizer. BSA has been used to regenerate plants from cultured guard cells. Bovine serum albumin can enhance the production of plasminogen activator.

To keep BSA affordable, ample access to raw material is important. High supply keeps the cost of bovine serum albumin down. In this respect, it's more cost effective to get the BSA from as large a producer as possible. They have more product to get rid of. Following the laws of supply and demand, you get a far better price from a BSA provider that's willing to make a deal.

About the Author:

Jesus Corleone is the author of this article on BSA. Find more information about Bovine Serum Albumin here.