Investigating the replacement of non-animal derived antibodies and serum in academic research

Julia will characterise and compare 50 non-animal derived antibodies (both primary and secondary) alongside animal-free serum for cell culture in four key research functions across the Institute including in flow cytometry, proteomics, microscopy facilities and centralised tissue culture protocols. These studies will build confidence in the use of non-animal reagents and their adoption which could replace the use of 6,000 animals each year.

This award was made as part of the 2024 non-animal derived product validation grants supported with funding from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).

The MRC LMS seeks £90,000 to evaluate non-animal derived products across several workflows throughout the institute. The LMS, an internationally renowned research institute, is dedicated to cutting edge research while reducing animal-intensive research for ethical and environmental reasons. Transitioning to non-animal derived products is the next logical step.

A significant barrier to adopting non-animal reagents is the resources and effort required for testing and optimization. Therefore, we request funds to support the purchase and validation of non-animal derived products for four key projects within the LMS. These projects will focus on our Flow Cytometry, Proteomics, and Microscopy facilities, as well as our central Tissue Culture protocols. Specifically, we aim to validate non-animal derived antibodies for FACs, immunofluorescence imaging, and proteomics, and to assess their efficacy when combined with animal-free media used in generating samples for these assays. This initiative will encompass a wide range of non-animal products for our most commonly used protocols and facilitate their adoption by other research groups. Additionally, we plan to share our findings with other UK and international institutes to promote the global adoption of animal-free protocols.

Validating and testing are resource-intensive processes; therefore, we plan to combine these projects with internally funded graduate initiatives, providing bespoke product testing tailored to individual research needs over 6-12 months. This approach ensures direct input from our research groups, fostering trust in the results and ensuring that successful products will be incorporated into central protocols. By providing our researchers with the necessary time and resources to test these products, we will remove current barriers that hinder their use and establish significant changes to our most common workflows.