Classical Cell Culture Media

Our classical basal media include the following:

DMEM

DMEM (Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium) is a widely used classical medium derived from Eagle's Medium with increased amino acids and vitamins. It supports proliferation of a broad range of mammalian cells, including primary fibroblasts, neuronal cells, glial cells, smooth muscle cells, hybridoma cells, HeLa, COS-7, and HEK293 cells, ideal for research and biotechnological applications.

MEM

MEM (Minimal Essential Medium) evolved from BME with higher natural amino acids and vitamins. It supports a wide range of suspended and adherent mammalian cells, including HeLa, BHK-21, HEK293, HEp-2, MCF-7, fibroblasts, and primary rat astrocytes. JSBio's MEM contains Earle's Balanced Salt Solution for CO₂ incubation and is available with or without Non-Essential Amino Acids (NEAAs).

Alpha-MEM

Alpha-MEM, an enhanced MEM formulation, supports various suspended and adherent mammalian cells including keratinocytes, primary rat astrocytes, and human melanoma cells. Enriched with NEAAs, vitamin B₁₂, biotin, ascorbic acid, sodium pyruvate, and lipoic acid. JSBio offers formulations with or without nucleosides and deoxyribonucleosides.

DMEM/F12

DMEM/F12 (Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium/Nutrient Mixture F12) is a 1:1 blend of DMEM and Ham's F-12.

RPMI 1640

RPMI 1640 (Roswell Park Memorial Institute 1640) contains reduced glutathione, inositol, choline, and higher vitamin levels than other classical media. It supports various mammalian cells including HeLa, MCF-7, PC-12, PBMCs, astrocytes, and cancer cells.

M199

M199 (Medium 199) was originally developed for chicken embryonic fibroblast culture. It contains extra lipid-soluble vitamins, cholesterol, and nucleotide precursors (adenine, adenosine, hypoxanthine, thymidine). Widely used in virology, vaccine production, and non-transformed cell culture.

IMDM

IMDM (Iscove's Modified Dulbecco's Medium) is a modified DMEM enriched with selenium, amino acids, and vitamins, using potassium nitrate instead of ferric nitrate. It supports COS-7, Jurkat cells, and macrophages.

Ham's F-12

Ham's F-12 Nutrient Mixture was originally designed for clonal growth of CHO, HeLa, and mouse L cells. It contains higher levels of zinc, putrescine, thymidine, and hypoxanthine than other classical media. With serum supplementation, it supports primary rat hepatocytes and prostate epithelial cells.

GMEM

GMEM (Glasgow Minimum Essential Medium) is a modified Eagle's MEM developed by Ian McPherson and Michael Stoker. Used for studying genetic factors affecting cellular functions and for culturing renal cell lines like BHK-21.

McCoy's 5A

McCoy's 5A is a versatile medium supporting proliferation of various primary cells, established cell lines, and biopsy explants. Ideal for primary mammalian cells from bone marrow, skin, spleen, kidney, lung, rat embryos, and other tissues.

Leibovitz's L-15

Leibovitz's L-15 uses a phosphate and free basic amino acid buffering system instead of sodium bicarbonate, enabling cell culture in non-CO₂ environments. It supports HEp-2 monkey kidney cells and primary tissue block cultures from embryonic and adult tissues.