Antibiotics | Thermo Fisher Scientific

Protect your cells with Gibco cell culture antibiotics

Antibiotics are secondary metabolites that inhibit the growth of, or actively kill, prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. In cell culture, there are two main concerns regarding contamination: the contamination of cell cultures with microbiological organisms and the contamination of one cell line with another. Both types of contamination are extremely prevalent, and the possibility of contamination—and the impact on results—cannot be underestimated.

Therefore, antibiotics and antimycotics are often added to cell culture media to help prevent the growth of contaminating bacteria, fungi, and mycoplasma. In addition, certain selection antibiotics are used to select and establish eukaryotic cells modified by genetic engineering.

Shop all antibiotics View contamination selection guide View transfection selection guide

Penicillin-Streptomycin-GlutaMAX Supplement product photo

NEW Gibco Penicillin-Streptomycin-GlutaMAX Supplement

Protect your cell cultures with this new penicillin-streptomycin antibiotic containing GlutaMAX Supplement, a stable form of L-glutamine, the dipeptide L-alanyl-L-glutamine. Gibco GlutaMAX supplement is a direct substitute for L-glutamine resulting in efficient energy metabolism and high-growth yield, without the detrimental effects of excess ammonia on your cells.

View Penicillin-Streptomycin-GlutaMAX Supplement

Antibiotics in cell culture should be used at optimal concentrations, but should not be used as a replacement of sterile practice.

NOTE: Antibiotics and antimycotics can be toxic to certain cell lines. Therefore, it is essential to first perform a dose-response test to determine the level at which toxicity begins.

To learn more, please visit our protocols page on the use of antibiotics for cell culture contamination.

Cell culture antibiotics for contamination

Thermo Fisher Scientific offers a variety of antibiotics for cell culture, including those for control of biological contamination arising from bacteria, yeast, fungi, and mycoplasma.

Name	Effective against					Form	Cat. No.
Name	Gram-positive bacteria	Gram-negative bacteria	Yeasts	Molds	Mycoplasma	Form	Cat. No.
Antibiotic-antimycotic See detailsSolution containing the antibiotics penicillin (inhibitor of bacterial cell wall synthesis) and streptomycin (inhibitor of bacterial protein synthesis) as well as the antimycotic Amphotericin B (acts on fungal cell membrane)	✓	✓	✓	✓		Liquid	15240096
Ampicillin See detailsBroad-spectrum antibiotic that interferes with bacterial cell wall synthesis	✓	✓				Powder	11593027
Amphotericin B See detailsAntifungal drug that prevents growth of fungi by causing increased fungal plasma membrane permeability			✓	✓		Liquid	15290018
Carbenicillin disodium salt See detailsSemi-synthetic penicillin antibiotic that uses the same mechanism of action as ampicillin (i.e., interference of cell wall synthesis), but is more stable in cell culture	✓	✓				Powder	10177012
Gentamicin See detailsBroad-spectrum aminoglycoside antibiotic that inhibits bacterial protein synthesis	✓	✓			✓	Liquid	15710064 (10 mg/mL)
	✓	✓			✓	Liquid	15750060 (50 mg/mL)
Gentamicin/Amphotericin solution See detailsSolution containing the broad-spectrum antibiotic gentamicin (inhibitor of bacterial protein synthesis) and the antimycotic Amphotericin B (acts on fungal cell membrane)	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	Liquid	R01510
Kanamycin sulfate See detailsBroad-spectrum aminoglycoside antibiotic that inhibits bacterial protein synthesis	✓	✓			✓	Powder	11815024
	✓	✓			✓	Liquid	15160054
Neomycin sulfate See detailsBroad-spectrum aminoglycoside antibiotic that inhibits bacterial protein synthesis	✓	✓				Powder	21810031
Penicillin streptomycin See detailsSolution containing the antibiotics penicillin (inhibitor of cell wall synthesis) and streptomycin (inhibitor of protein synthesis)	✓	✓				Liquid	15070063 (5,000 U/mL)
	✓	✓				Liquid	15140122 (10,000 U/mL)
Penicillin-streptomycin GlutaMAX supplement See detailsSolution containing the antibiotic penicillin (inhibitor of cell wall synthesis), streptomycin (inhibitor of protein synthesis) as well as GlutaMAX supplement, a stabilized form of L-glutamine, the dipeptide L-alanyl-L-glutamine, that prevents degradation and buildup of ammonia.	✓	✓				Liquid	A5873601
Penicillin-streptomycin-glutamine See detailsSolution containing the antibiotic penicillin (inhibitor of cell wall synthesis), streptomycin (inhibitor of protein synthesis) as well as the essential nutrient L-glutamine	✓	✓				Liquid	10378016
Penicillin-streptomycin-neomycin See detailsSolution containing the antibiotics penicillin (inhibitor of cell wall synthesis), as well as streptomycin and neomycin (inhibitors of protein synthesis)	✓	✓				Liquid	15640055
Polymyxin B sulfate See detailsPolypeptide antibiotic that interferes with bacterial cell membrane permeability		✓				Powder	21850029
Streptomycin sulfate See detailsBroad-spectrum aminoglycoside antibiotic that inhibits bacterial protein synthesis	✓	✓				Powder	11860038
Fosmidomycin See detailsPhosphonate antibiotic that inhibits isoprene synthesis		✓				Powder	F23103

Cell culture antibiotics for selection and cell line development

In addition to antibiotics used in media for contamination prevention, Thermo Fisher Scientific also offers a variety of antibiotics used for selection in transfection and cell line development.

Name	Common selection usage				Form	Cat. No.
Name	Prokaryotic	Eukaryotic mammalian	Eukaryotic plant	Eukaryotic yeast	Form	Cat. No.
Mycophenolic acid See details Acts as an inhibitor of the guanosine monophosphate pathway and is used to select transfected animal cells expressing the E. coli gene for xanthine guanine phosphoribosyltransferase	✓	✓			Powder	11814019
Blasticidin S HCl See detailsInhibits protein synthesis and is used to select cells expressing the resistance genes BSR or BSD Note: this antibiotic is most commonly used for selection in mammalian cells	✓	✓	✓	✓	Liquid	A1113902
	✓	✓	✓	✓	Powder	R21001
Geneticin (G418 Sulfate) See detailsBlocks prokaryotic and eukaryotic protein synthesis and is used to select for cells expressing the neomycin resistance gene	✓	✓	✓	✓	Liquid	10131035
	✓	✓	✓	✓	Powder	11811023
Hygromycin B See detailsInhibits prokaryotic and eukaryotic protein synthesis and is used to select for cells transformed with the resistance gene hph Note: Hygromycin B uses a mode of action that is distinct from that of geneticin, Blasticidin S, or zeocin, making it ideal for dual-selection experiments involving another selection reagent	✓	✓	✓	✓	Liquid	10687010
Puromycin See detailsInhibits prokaryotic and eukaryotic protein synthesis and is used to select for resistant cells expressing the puromycin N-acetyltransferase gene (pac)	✓	✓			Liquid	A1113802
Zeocin See detailsDestroys DNA molecules and is used to select for cells expressing the resistance gene Sh ble Note: Because zeocin is active in both bacterial and mammalian cells, vectors can be designed that carry only one drug resistance marker, reducing overall vector size	✓	✓	✓	✓	Liquid	R25005
Actinomycin D See detailsActs as a selection agent by inhibiting nucleic acid synthesis in nonresistant cells	✓				Powder	11805017
Ampicillin See detailsInterferes with bacterial cell wall synthesis and can be used to select for cells expressing the bla gene, which produces beta-lactamase, a protein that inactivates ampicillin’s beta-lactam ring Note: Sometimes beta-lactamase produced by the bacteria is secreted into the medium, inactivating ampicillin in the medium and allowing the growth of satellite colonies	✓				Powder	11593027
Carbenicillin disodium salt See detailsUses the same mechanism of action as ampicillin and is used to select for resistant Agrobacterium and E. coli expressing the beta-lactamase (bla) gene Note: Carbenicillin is broken down more slowly by beta-lactamase as compared to ampicillin and is more stable in culture	✓				Powder	10177012
Neomycin sulfate See detailsInhibits bacterial protein synthesis and is used to select for cells expressing a neomycin resistance gene	✓				Powder	21810031
Polymyxin B sulfate See detailsActs as a selection agent by interfering with bacterial cell membrane permeability in nonresistant cells	✓				Powder	21850029
Streptomycin sulfate See detailsActs as a selection agent by inhibiting bacterial protein synthesis in nonresistant cells	✓				Powder	11860038
Kanamycin sulfate See detailsInhibits bacterial protein synthesis and can be used to select for cells that have been transformed with a kanamycin-resistant gene	✓				Powder	11815024
	✓				Liquid	15160054

Learn about antibiotics for stable cell line development

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Antibiotics in Cell Culture