¹The synthetic protein-free SYNBIOS^® gamete handling and embryo culture media are made of chemicals of high purity. It is devoid of biological components of non-uniform composition. This makes the SYNBIOS^® culture media a synthetic and chemically defined formulation. This allows batch-to-batch chemical consistency during production; as a consequence variation in quality of embryos between batches is minimal.

²It is well recognized biological components such as donor serum proteins cannot be sterilized with absolute certainty. Donor biologicals such as serum proteins carry a theoretical health risk because it may harbour hazardous protein-bound pathogenic agents such as viruses and prions which could be transmitted to embryos, patients and healthcare workers. The synthetic protein-free SYNBIOS^® embryo culture media helps prevent disease transmission.

³Micro RNA and DNA strands may be present as contaminants in donor serum protein preparations. Albumin binds RNA, and to a lower level, DNA. This suggests contaminant donor RNA/DNA could get into the culture system as a contaminant in protein-containing culture media which may carry the risk of crossover with the embryonic genome. The SYNBIOS^® embryo culture media being synthetic may circumvent this issue.

⁴A total of 110 contaminant proteins other than albumin have been identified in human serum albumin (HSA) preparations used in protein-containing IVF embryo culture media. Of these, 18 were associated with the innate immune and 17 with inflammatory responses. These undeclared contaminant proteins could potentially influence embryonic development, gestation age, birth weight and perhaps have subsequent effects on health of the offspring.

⁵Blood and blood products are considered impure/unclean in many cultures. Since the SYNBIOS^® embryo culture media products are devoid of donor blood proteins; it is anticipated to comply with the cultural norms and lifestyle of many religions and beliefs, e.g.: Caste Hindus, Muslims, Jehovah's Witnesses, (possibly other faiths as well), vegetarians, vegans, etc. The SYNBIOS^® culture media appears compliant with the values of these communities. Its formulation has previously been certified Halal-compliant embryo culture media by the EU Halal authority.

⁶Human embryos generated in the synthetic protein-free SYNBIOS^® embryo culture and sperm freezing media have led to normal pregnancies and births comparable to conventional protein-containing media.

⁷The SYNBIOS^® embryo culture media is probably the only ART media formulation that can be frozen-stored for up to 24 months without loss of efficacy. Frozen-thawed media elicits pregnancy rates statistically identical to that obtained from embryos generated in fresh medium. Freezing enables longer shelf life, making SYNBIOS^® embryo culture media less wasteful and economical.

In short, the synthetic protein-free SYNBIOS^® embryo culture media eliminates the risk of disease transmission, has less regulatory profile for users, and provides a safe chemically non-variable option in ART.