Advanced DMEM/F-12 (Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium/Ham's F-12) is a widely used basal medium that allows the culture of mammalian cells with reduced Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) supplementation. Compared to classic DMEM/F-12, serum supplementation can be reduced by 50–90% with no change in growth rate or morphology. Cells successfully cultured in Advanced DMEM/F-12, with no adaptation, include MRC-5, SP2, Vero, WI-38 and Jurkat.


The complete formulation is available.

Using Advanced DMEM/F-12
Advanced DMEM/F-12 is unique from other media due to addition of the following ingredients to allow for serum reduction: ethanolamine, glutathione, ascorbic acid, insulin, transferrin, AlbuMAX™ II lipid-rich bovine serum albumin for cell culture, and the trace elements sodium selenite, ammonium metavanadate, cupric sulfate, and manganous chloride. Advanced DMEM/F-12 requires supplementation with 1–5% Fetal Bovine Serum and 4 mM L-glutamine or GlutaMAX™ supplement. Many cell lines do not require adaptation to this media. The FBS concentration must be optimized for each cell line to obtain maximum serum reduction. Advanced Advanced DMEM/F-12 uses a sodium bicarbonate buffer system (3.7 g/L) and therefore requires a 5–10% CO₂ environment to maintain physiological pH.

cGMP manufacturing and quality system
For supply chain continuity, we manufacture Advanced DMEM/F-12 at two separate facilities located in Grand Island, NY and Scotland, UK. Both sites are compliant with cGMP manufacturing requirements, are certified to ISO 13485, and are registered with the FDA as medical device manufacturers.