Recombinant Transferrin

Animal-free recombinant human transferrin for your biomanufacturing and R&D needs

Iron is a requisite component in the biology of life, playing essential roles in cellular metabolism, cell replication, and various specialized functions. Free ferrous iron (Fe2+), however, is readily oxidized in solution to its ferric form (Fe3+), which easily catalyzes the formation of toxic reactive oxygen species and free radicals. In the body, this undesirable process is controlled by the iron-binding glycoprotein transferrin, which scavenges extracellular ferric iron in the bloodstream and delivers it back to the cells through endocytosis.  Once it releases its payload, iron-free transferrin recirculates to repeat the cycle.

In routine cell culture, transferrin is customarily supplied as a natural component of fetal bovine serum (FBS). The growing use of serum-free, chemically defined media in the culture of cells destined for downstream clinical therapeutic applications, however, necessitates the use of a purified recombinant form of this essential component.

InVitria’s recombinant human transferrin, Optiferrin, is completely free of animal and human components and is produced in a scalable, non-mammalian expression system. It is fully human in primary sequence, is ⍺-glycosylated during expression, contributing to it’s stability and function in the host, and shares secondary and higher-order structural equivalence with naturally occurring human holo-transferrin. Its functional performance in cell culture matches that of human holo-transferrin in terms of reversible iron binding, transferrin-receptor binding, and promoting cell growth and productivity.

Optiferrin is naturally free of prion agents and carries a far lower potential risk of contamination with other human or mammalian adventitious agents compared to serum-derived components and recombinant proteins produced in other systems. Its purity makes it ideal for demanding research and commercial applications.

Optiferrin is suitable for a broad range of cell types and applications including:

  • Stem, primary, and bioproduction cells
  • Robust proliferation of human hematopoietic stem cells (HSC)
  • Sp2/0 hybridoma cells
  • Applicable to any use requiring chemically defined culture media