We’re excited to announce that Pel-Freez Biologicals now offers pooled and single donor lyophilized human complement, making your lab work more efficient, cost-effective, and flexible.
For years, Pel-Freez has provided high-quality lyophilized rabbit complement and other biological reagents. Now, we’re applying that same expertise to our native and antibody-depleted human complement, offering a freeze-dried product that preserves activity while eliminating the challenges of frozen storage and shipping.
Already using our liquid antibody-depleted human complement — or sourcing from another vendor? Learn how our new lyophilized complement options can help streamline your workflow, reduce costs, and enhance reliability.
The benefits of lyophilization
Lyophilization, or freeze-drying, is a well-established method that enhances the stability and shelf life of biological reagents. By removing at least 95% of water content, the process prevents degradation, making our complement products easier to store, ship, and use.
Significant cost savings
Shipping biological reagents, especially with preserved protein activity, often requires expensive dry ice and strict temperature controls. Our lyophilized serum and complement products eliminate the need for cryo-shipping, offering:
- Lower shipping costs — No dry ice or specialized packaging required, just standard cool packs
- Simplified logistics — Use standard shipping methods with fewer restrictions
- Smaller footprint — Free up valuable freezer space for other critical reagents
Stability for extended shelf life
Freeze-drying dramatically improves the stability of complement reagents, ensuring they remain reliable while stored in standard laboratory freezers (–20°C) rather than requiring ultra-low temperature freezers (–70°C or below). This means:
- Preserved bioactivity over extended periods
- Decreased risk of degradation during transport or fluctuating conditions
- Reliable performance when you need it most
Flexible reconstitution for custom concentrations
Lyophilized complement products allow researchers to precisely control the concentration of their reagents. By adjusting the resuspension volume, you can:
- Achieve the exact concentration required for your protocols
- Streamline workflows, reducing dilution steps and potential errors
- Easily use the same product for multiple applications
Quality tested for reliable results
We take quality assurance seriously. Each batch undergoes rigorous testing to meet the highest industry standards, ensuring you get a reliable product every time.
Just like our liquid human complement, our lyophilized products are sourced from consenting human donors at FDA licensed centers in the United States. Each donor unit is screened for pathogens per FDA guidelines, yielding non-reactive/negative results for each test performed.
As part of our processing method, we filter complement through a 0.2 micron filter, verify complement activity (CH50), and confirm final moisture content <5% via gravimetric testing. Antibody-depleted lyophilized complement products also undergo HPLC testing to determine residual immunoglobulin content. For example, our pooled triple-depleted human complement contains <3.5% residual IgG, <3.5% IgM, and <3.5% IgA.
Tips for preparing and storing reconstituted complement
Reconstitute lyophilized complement by bringing the vial to ambient temperature, then add sterile water equal to the volume listed on the product label for a 1:1 ratio. Resuspending in a volume less than the label volume will increase complement potency, which can be useful for applications requiring greater complement activity.
We always recommend testing the reconstituted complement in your specific assay conditions to ensure the dilution is appropriate for your desired end use.
Pro tip: Avoid clumping during resuspension by letting the powder dissolve gradually or by gently inverting the vial rather than immediately stirring or vortexing.
Once resuspended, store any unused material in smaller aliquots at –70°C to maintain stability. Because hydrated complement components are highly heat-sensitive, always thaw on ice or in a cold water bath. Avoid refreezing thawed aliquots and discard any remaining material after use.
Proven lyophilization expertise for your high-stakes projects
Pel-Freez is no stranger to lyophilization. We’ve been offering lyophilized biological products for years, providing researchers with high-quality freeze-dried reagents for vaccine R&D, in vitro diagnostics, and other biopharma or life science applications.
We also offer custom lyophilization services up to 250 L per batch. Our expertise ensures that every vial of lyophilized complement meets the highest standards of quality and performance.
