RPMI 1640 Medium was originally developed to culture human leukemic cells in suspension and as a monolayer. Roswell Park Memorial Institute (RPMI) 1640 Medium has since been found suitable for a variety of mammalian cells, including HeLa, Jurkat, MCF-7, PC12, PBMC, astrocytes, and carcinomas. We offer a variety of RPMI 1640 Medium modifications for a range of cell culture applications. Find the right formulation using the media selector tool.

The complete formulation is available.

Using RPMI
RPMI 1640 Medium is unique from other media because it contains the reducing agent glutathione and high concentrations of vitamins. RPMI 1640 Medium contains biotin, vitamin B₁₂, and PABA, which are not found in Eagle's Minimal Essential Medium or Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium. In addition, the vitamins inositol and choline are present in very high concentrations. RPMI 1640 Medium contains no proteins, lipids, or growth factors; therefore, requiring supplementation, commonly with 10% Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS). RPMI 1640 Medium uses a sodium bicarbonate buffer system (2.0 g/L), and therefore requires a 5–10% CO₂ environment to maintain physiological pH. Powder forms of Gibco™ cell culture media require sodium bicarbonate supplementation, pH adjustment, and filtration at the time of preparation (see protocol for details).