TCS Biosciences Ltd

TCS Biosciences Ltd is best known as a manufacturer and distributor of laboratory reagents and test kits. During our 58 year history we have developed skills, processes and procedures that make us the ideal contract manufacturing partner of in vitro diagnostics kits and kit components.

TCS Biosciences Ltd is pleased to announce an expansion of our collaboration with the National Collection of Type Cultures. We are now able to supply NCTC source cultures alongside our Selectrol® range of products.

You can continue to enjoy the benefits of Selectrol® while adding strains that are not currently in the Selectrol® format.

One Supplier ... two great products!

Can't find the strain you need in the Selectrol range? Simply add the source NCTC® strain to your order.

Newborn Calf Serum (NBCS) is suitable for use in many applications including cell culture by promoting cell lines and primary cultures. Suitability testing is the most reliable method of determining that a batch is suitable for use in its intended application.

TCS Biosciences Ltd is pleased to offer a reserve service allowing customers to test smaller volumes of NBCS that are representative of larger bulk batches. We are happy to hold reserves on a call off basis. Contact our customer services department for more information.

We offer New Zealand, Australian and USA origins of NBCS in 100ml and 500ml volumes. As well as the standard sterile filtered product we can also offer heat inactivated products.

Bovine Serum Albumin is a large, stable, soluble, monomeric, globular protein which makes up about half of the total serum protein. Due to its binding and transporting properties, BSA acts primarily as a carrier protein for hormones, fatty acids, trace minerals, vitamins and iron. However, it also plays a role in stabilising extracellular fluid volume and maintaining osmotic balance, as well as binding harmful toxins and free radicals.

Its in vitro uses are diverse, ranging from pharmaceutical and medical applications to agriculture and chemical manufacture.

TCS Biosciences Ltd has pioneered processes that guarantee consistent, high quality horse and sheep blood products.
TCS blood products are either defibrinated or collected into anticoagulants, depending upon your requirement. We also supply lysed blood, where the red cells are disrupted by addition of saponin solution.
Our defibrinated blood products are supplied with a guaranteed Packed Cell Volume (PCV) of 40-50% for horse blood and 32-52% for sheep blood.
Horse and sheep blood - Discounts are available for large standing orders and specific production needs can usually be met.

Adult Chicken Cells
Adult Chicken Cells in Alsever's. The initial volume of Alsever's is removed along with the plasma, and the cells are re-suspended in a second volume of Alsever's. Minimum PCV is 15%. Antibiotics are added to protect the product from contamination.

Rabbit Blood
Rabbit Blood in Alsever's. Final concentration is Alsever's of 50%. Minimum PCV is 15%. Antibiotics are added to protect the product from contamination.
Rabbit Blood Defibrinated. Contains no anticoagulant. Minimum PCV is 32%. Antibiotics are added to protect the product from contamination.

Guinea Pig Blood Cells
Guinea Pig Blood Cells in Alsever's. The initial volume of Alsever's is removed along with the plasma, and the cells are re-suspended in a second volume of Alsever's. Minimum PCV is 15%. Antibiotics are added to protect the product from contamination.

TCS Biosciences Ltd is one of the largest suppliers of human serum and plasma in the United Kingdom and Europe.

Human serum and plasma products have proved over many years to be suitable material for biochemical and in-vitro diagnostic applications including EIA, IFA, CF, RIA and latex agglutination. They are also suitable for use as controls, standards and calibrators.

Material is also suitable for tissue culture and other research applications. Customers should satisfy themselves that a particular product is suitable for their requirements before purchase.

Products available from TCS Biosciences Ltd:
Human Serum - off the clot - sterile or non-sterile
Human Plasma - sterile or non-sterile. Catalogue product is citrated (CPD) but other anticoagulants (Heparin, EDTA or oxalate) are available on request.

Both serum and plasma are available as individual donor units (IDUs) or pools of mixed group and gender.

Additionally, IDUs and pools may be specified with particular group or gender.

All serum and plasma units have been screened and found non-reactive for Hepatitis B, HIV l, HIV II, HCV and Syphilis. We can also supply product that has been more extensively screened to current FDA standards.
Plasma derived human serum.

We recognise the important role played by serum in the manufacture of safe, high quality products.

As part of the surveillance system to ensure biological safety of such products, regulatory controls are applied to serum, paying attention to every step from raw material collection to final testing of the finished product.
Thorough biological testing is necessary to assure performance and to eliminate potential biological hazards.

Tissue culture scientists need to have complete confidence that the serum they use meets their specific needs, and that properly validated procedures have been used to demonstrate this. It is therefore important that all operations from the animal to the finished product are quality controlled and fully documented.

Animal Welfare
Careful selection, free-range conditions, extensive good pasture and stringent veterinary supervision ensures healthy stock. Blood collection is carried out in stress-free conditions by qualified, trained personnel in accordance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. Veterinary health certificates are available upon request.
Our 400 hectare farm is divided into several sites, each fully equipped for blood collection. Horses have been screened for viruses and other pathogens before admission to donor herds, each of which is isolated from other stock and used exclusively for blood donation. The system ensures rigorous control of the health of our animals.

Consistent Quality
We maintain high quality standards in all aspects of serum production from animal husbandry, through collection to processing and packaging to ensure consistent top quality products. We recognise that traceability is of prime importance to our customers, and we are renowned for the quality of our documentation trail and our rapid response to specialist customer requirements

TCS Biosciences Ltd is pleased to incorporate Fetal (Foetal) Bovine Serum (FBS) of Australian and New Zealand Origin produced by Moregate BioTech.
Australia and New Zealand, being island countries with the strictest quarantine systems, have remained relatively disease-free. This coupled with careful collection, strict processing and filtration procedures, followed by rigorous testing ensures product of the highest integrity. Serum is shipped direct from the country of origin. Certificate of Analysis with full product traceability.

New Zealand is recognised as the world's premier source of animal derived products. The country has no List A (OIE) diseases and is free from Scrapie and BSE.

From an ideal location in the South Island of New Zealand the Donor Bovine Serum produced by South Pacific Sera offers a high degree of security through product quality and assured animal health status. The collection of serum is directly controlled by South Pacific Sera on their own farm of 4000 hectares. Processing and large scale filtration are undertaken in New Zealand thereby ensuring all production occurs in the country of origin

Selectrol® is a fully traceable and cost effective range of first generation micro-organisms which have predictable biochemical reactions, making it ideal for a variety of quality control and testing applications.
Quality control of culture media, staining reactions, biochemical profiling.
Determination of antibiotic concentrations in blood, serum or CSF samples.
Antibiotic susceptibility testing controls, whether by disc diffusion or serial dilution.

Selectrol® is a first generation derivative of original stock cultures obtained exclusively from the National Collection of Type Cultures (NCTC®) or National Collection of Pathogenic Fungi (NCPF®). Where appropriate other international strain designations, such as the ATCC®, are listed for reference purposes only.

Selectrol® strains are presented as water-soluble freeze-dried discs with most strains being available in packs of 10 or 25 discs. Selectrol® is versatile, and can be inoculated directly onto solid media or dissolved in an appropriate broth.

Certificates of Analysis are available to download from our website: www.tcsbiosciences.co.uk.

To ensure you have the most recent Selectrol® listing, please contact our Customer Service team.

Selectrol® discs are manufactured under license from UK Health Security Agency.

NCTC® and NCPF® are trademarks of UK Health Security Agency.
ATCC® strains are listed for reference only.
ATCC® is a registered trademark of the American Type Culture Collection.

Accu-Bac is a guaranteed second generation derivative of NCTC cultures, manufactured under licence from UK Health Security Agency.
Each carefully prepared disc will contain a target range of ≤100 c.f.u, with 95% confidence interval stated on the Certificate of Analysis. This is ideal for most quantitative applications. AccuBac will be supplied in 1 disc vials and has a 12 month shelf-life from the date of manufacture.

- Target c.f.u. counts ≤100 per disc, with 95% confidence interval range stated on the Certificate of Analysis
- Shelf life of 12 months
- Simple to use, no dilutions required
- Guaranteed 2nd generation and fully traceable to the original NCTC source strain
- Certificates of Analysis available from our website

Identification and Characterisation testing completed in accordance within our UKAS accredited scope

- Wet Dyes and Stains and Stain Packs
- Stain Concentrates for Bacteriology
- Protein Stains for Electrophoresis

TCS offers a comprehensive range of microbiological wet and dry dyes and stains. Our range of wet dyes includes ready-to-use as well as concentrated formats to suit specific needs. 500ml bottles are presented with pouring caps for ease of use. Our dry dyes and stains are available in pack sizes of 10g, 25g and 100g.

You can also choose from our selection of liquid stain concentrates, allowing you to make 1 litre of ready-to-use stain.

Stain solutions are classified in accordance with the Classification Labelling and Packaging Regulation EC (no) 1272/2008. Dyes and Stains by their physical nature may result in permanent staining if in contact with skin and clothing. Avoid contact with skin, eyes and clothing. Do not ingest.

Product Code: ZAICS0
The Isolate® Semi-Automated Bead Recovery System includes:
Rotator
Disc and Hub
6 Incu-Clips
6 Micro-Clips
6 Magna-Clips
Dissociation Block
Storage Rack

Introducing COLIKAT RAPID, a rapid test for the simultaneous detection of total coliforms and Escherichia coli in a wide range of water sample matrices.

- Meets the requirements of EN ISO 9308-2:2012
- Simultaneous detection and quantification of Escherichia coli and total coliforms
- Sample evaluation after 18 hours
- Optimized workflow for the laboratory

COLIKAT RAPID uses specific characteristics of both Escherichia coli and coliform bacteria for identification of the species. The test contains MUG and ONPG, two common nutritional indicators.

COLIKAT RAPID samples are incubated overnight and are ready for reading early the next day:

- Providing significant workflow advantages
- Delivering fast, reliable and actionable results
- Testing is highly sensitive and specific
- Increased reliability of result, decreasing response times and reducing cost

Crypto/Giardia-Cel FITC Stain, produced by Cellabs, is an in vitro immunofluorescent test for the simultaneous detection of Cryptosporidium oocysts and Giardia cysts in faecal and environmental samples

EasyStain™ is an immunofluorescent reagent that specifically binds to Cryptosporidium oocysts and Giardia cysts to highlight their presence in water samples. When a water sample is stained with the EasyStain™ reagent, oocysts or cysts in the sample will fluoresce bright green. Stained samples can be examined using fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry or laser scanning cytometry.

There are numerous organic particles present in water samples that can cross-react with most Cryptosporidium and Giardia-specific antibodies. This makes recognition difficult because these particles can easily be mistaken for Cryptosporidium oocysts or Giardia cysts, results of staining can be difficult to interpret. However EasyStain™ is formulated to avoid cross-reaction with particles present in water samples, ensuring that only the oocysts and cysts are stained.

The antibodies in EasyStain™ are highly purified, ensuring that there is no contamination. The conjugated antibody is stored in a specially designed buffer that includes a novel blocking agent and a preservative.
EasyStain™ is a mixture of two monoclonal antibodies; a Cryptosporidium-specific IgG1 mAb and a Giardia-specific IgG1 mAb. The reagent is supplied as a working solution and does not require dilution.

This revolutionary new reagent provides an internal quality control parameter against which the performance of every environmental sample can be analysed. ColorSeed™ enables accurate water testing and simple interpretation of results with a percentage recovery for every test.

Each ColorSeed™ vial contains exactly 100 flow sorted Cryptosporidium parvum (Iowa Strain) and 100 flow sorted Giardia lamblia labelled with a permanent red dye. ColorSeed™ contains gamma-irradiation inactiated oocysts and cysts that display typical morphology. Each batch is supplied with a certificate of analysis.

EasySeed™ has been approved by the UK Drinking Water Inspectorate and the US Environmental Protection Agency. The products are flow-sorted to contain 100 gamma-irradiated Cryptosporidium parvum (Iowa Strain) oocysts and 100?1 Giardia lamblia cysts in approximately 1ml of saline solution (Z9ES-CG100), or 100°C parvum oocysts only (Z9ES-C100). EasySeed™ can simply be added to your QC water sample for a precise and consistent demonstration of testing performance.

Gamma-irradiated oocysts and cysts are safe to use and morphologically stable. EasySeed™ tubes are sealed, sterilised and stable for 4 months. Kits contain 10 vials. If required, vials can be customised to contain a specified number of oocysts.

Gonochek II is a rapid confirmation test for Neisseria species and provides differential diagnostics of: Neisseria gonorrhoea, Neisseria meningitidis, Neisseria lactamica, Moraxella (Branhamella) catarrhalis.
The kit has a simple step-by-step protocol and provides easy to interpret chromogenic results. Sensitivity >95% on all Neisseria species, specificity >90% on all Neisseria species.

Human Platelet Lysate Products (Standard)

Dimanco Bacticount slides are designed to monitor working surfaces and fluids for bacterial or fungal contamination. Sides of meat and similar surfaces can also be tested. Bacticount is a plastic slide coated on both sides with microbiological culture media and is contained in its own sterile tube. The slide is hinged for ease of use.
Also available is the Incubator for Bacticount. A robust design manufactured from an unbreakable acid-proof synthetic material. The Incubator holds a maximum of 20 slides and the temperature can be adjusted from ambient to 40°C. Incubators are supplied with the temperature pre-set at 35°C.

Hyserve Compact Dry™ plates provide a convenient test method for counting micro-organisms. The plates are supplied sterile and ready-to-use, and the media are dehydrated allowing for a long shelf life at room temperature. The incorporation of chromogenic agents in the media ensures that the plates are easy to interpret, making them an ideal alternative to the conventional culture plate method.
The plates can be used to test raw materials and finished products such as food, beverages, meat and cosmetics. Compact Dry™ is ideal for laboratory use and is portable, facilitating on-site sampling.

World Bioproducts is leading the way with revolutionary products to make microbiology sample collection and processing more effective and reliable.

EZ Reach™ Sponge Sampler
The industry standard for sample collection.
Environmental monitoring requires collecting samples from a wide variety of surfaces, from processing equipment and conveyors, to drains and expansive floor or wall surfaces. The EZ Reach™ sponge sampler family offers a range of sizes and functions to fit most sampling needs. All EZ Reach sponges combine a high purity polyurethane sponge with our patented twist-off handle.

Swab Samplers
Whether collecting samples for pathogen detection, plate counts, allergens, or viruses, swabs are ideal for collecting environmental samples from small surface areas as well as the tiny cracks and crevices found throughout a production facility.

Cardinal Biologicals have been providing the scientific community with Human Organs and Tissues since 1988, their product range includes placentas, umbilical cords, umbilical cord serum/plasma, amniotic fluid, seminal fluid, CSF, ascites fluid, synovial fluid, pleural fluid, saliva, tears, and various types of human urine. They are also manufacturers of human tissue microscopic slides.

Products available:
Body Fluids
Microscope Slides - Stained
Microscope Slides - Unstained
Placentas
Plasma
Serum

Cardinal Biologicals offer a wide range of biological specimens from the human body. If you require something that is not listed above, please contact us.