Description

• General description: Retinyl-acetate is a natural and ester derivative of vitamin A.[1] It is found in classical media formulations such as M-199; NCTC-109 and William′s Medium E. Vitamin A is a component of serum useful in most serum containing cell culture systems, which receive some level of vitamin A.
• Application: Retinyl acetate has been used as a standard to measure the concentration of vitamin C in high performance liquid chromatography analysis (HPLC)[2] and as a supplement in the preparation of the complete medium.[3]
• Biochem/physiol Actions: The oxidized form of retinol is retinoic acid, which has hormone-like growth factor and differentiation activity for epithelial and related cell types, especially neural cells. Retinoic acid induces embryonic stem cells to differentiate towards neural cells. Retinyl-acetate is known to be effective in treating breast cancer.[4]
• Other Notes: All trans
• Preparation Note: The melting point of this material is approx. 58 °C. In order to package, it was melted and may exist as a crystalline solid or as a supercooled viscous liquid.