Essential 8 Media System

Just what stem cells need.
Nothing they don’t.

Starting with the original formulation, Gibco Essential 8 Medium is our most defined and consistent feeder-free medium for induced pluripotent stem cell culture. It has been optimized for a wide variety of applications to help researchers achieve ultimate control over their PSC culture systems.

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Essential 8 Resources

Gibco PSC Media are manufactured according to cGMP for medical devices, 21 CFR Part 820

Where do you need more control over your PSC Culture?

Routine PSC maintenance and expansion

Support through stressful events

Transition to clinical research

Cell therapy-grade for clinical research

Where would you like to gain control? Compare Essential 8 for different applications.

PSC maintenance and expansion	Essential 8 Medium	Consistent—no BSA reducing variability compared to existing feeder-free culture media Cost effective—economical and scalable PSC culture compared to other feeder-free media Robust—reliable and consistent cultures with a xeno-free, cGMP defined medium
Flexible feeding schedule	Essential 8 Flex Medium	Eliminate daily feeding—Stabilized FGF2 enables maintenance of pluripotency over a 2-day period without feeding cells and without adjustments to your typical culture protocol Easy to transition—Same set-up, applications, and protocol as the original Essential 8 formulations Proven—Based on the original Essential 8 formulation, maintains pluripotency and normal karyotypes in long-term culture
Differentiation	Essential 6 Medium	Enables differentiation—does not contain bFGF, thereby enabling embryoid body formation and directed differentiation Flexibility—provides a flexible growth factor-free base where TGFβ, bFGF, or other proteins, molecules and supplements can be added to suit different applications
Stressful events	Essential 8 Medium + RevitaCell Supplement	Minimize the impact of stress—RevitaCell Supplement supports cells in stressful applications through a more specific ROCK inhibitor Non-addictive—Shown to have a non-addictive impact on downstream cell utility unlike other ROCK inhibitors Expanded applications—Enabling use of Essential 8 medium in applications where cells need additional support
Adaptation from feeder-based media	Essential 8 Adaptation Kit	Confidently transition—adapt cells from feeder-dependent to feeder-free culture system with minimal effort and maximum cell viability Physiologically relevant—expand cells with minimal differentiation  Scalable—passage stem cell lines as single cells with no impact to genetic stability
Transition from bench to clinical research	CTS Essential 8 Medium	Reduces risk—only globally available human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) culture medium without components derived directly from animals GMP-grade—cGMP manufactured in an FDA registered facility for medical devices Testing and regulatory documentation—FDA Drug Master Files available

Minimize the impact of stress – RevitaCell Supplement supports cells in stressful applications through a more specific ROCK inhibitor
Non-addictive – Shown to have a non-addictive impact on downstream cell utility unlike other ROCK inhibitors
Expanded applications – Enabling use of Essential 8 medium in applications where cells need additional support

Related products

The Essential 8 Media system and accompanying reagents provide the most defined and consistent culture conditions for pluripotent stem cells. Each of the recommended reagents across the following workflow is defined and xenofree, allowing for consistent results every time. Below is an example of a workflow advancing from reprogramming to differentiation utilizing the Essential 8 Media system.

essential 6

CytoTune-iPS 2.0 Sendai Reprogramming Kit
contains a polycistronic vector which offers an increased reprogramming efficiency up to 1.2%

essential 8

Essential 8 Medium contains only the 8 necessary components needed for stem cell culture enabling more consistent culture

psc

PSC Cryopreservation Kit contains a xeno-free, ready-to-use cryopreservation medium and a chemically defined recovery supplement, RevitaCell Supplement, that consistently recovers 50% more viable cells post-thaw

essential 6