The use of balanced salt solution (BSS) in cell and tissue culture is generally attributed to early workers in the field. In 1885, Sydney Ringer developed a solution of inorganic salts designed to maintain contractility of mammalian heart tissue. A less specific salt solution was designed by Tyrode for use in work with primary mammalian cells. Tyrode's salt solution became the accepted fluid for diluting protein components of media of natural origin. Since that time, many other balanced salt solutions have been developed for use in cell and tissue culture. The current role of balanced salt solution in cell culture is multi-faceted and can be divided into four principle functions.

As an irrigating, transporting and diluting fluid while maintaining intra- and extra-cellular osmotic balance;

Provides cells with water and certain bulk inorganic ions essential for normal cell metabolism;

Combined with a carbohydrate, such as glucose, provides the principle energy source for cell metabolism; and

Provides buffering system to maintain the medium within the physiological pH range (7.2-7.6)

Product #	Product Name	Description	Application
D 8662	Dulbecco's Phosphate Buffered Saline	Liquid With calcium chloride and magnesium chloride Cell culture tested Sterile-filtered Endotoxin teste	Known as D-PBS, this is a general use, isotonic saline solution for washing cells and tissues.
D 1283	Dulbecco's Phosphate Buffered Saline (10X)	Liquid With calcium chloride and magnesium chloride Cell culture tested Sterile-filtered pH 4.2-4.6 at 10X Endotoxin tested	Concentrated form of D 8662.
D 8537	Dulbecco's Phosphate Buffered Saline Modified	Liquid w/o calcium chloride and magnesium chloride Cell culture tested Sterile-filtered Endotoxin tested	Calcium and magnesium promote cell adhesion. Use this formulation of D-PBS when tissue or cell dissociation or release is the objective.
D 1408	Dulbecco's Phosphate Buffered Saline (10X)	Liquid Cell culture tested Sterile-filtered pH 6.6-7.0 at 10X Endotoxin tested	Concentrated form of D 8537.
D 5652	Dulbecco's Phosphate Buffered Saline Modified	Powder w/o calcium chloride and magnesium chloride Cell culture tested Formulated at 9.6 grams of powder per liter of medium Related products: Dulbecco's Phosphate Buffered Saline Hybri-Max (D7030)	Powder form of D 8537 Calcium and magnesium promote cell adhesion. Use this formulation of D-PBS when tissue or cell dissociation or release is the objective.
D 7030	Dulbecco's Phosphate Buffered Saline Modified Hybri-Max.	Powder w/o calcium chloride and magnesium chloride Hybridoma tested Formulated at 9.6 grams of powder per liter of medium Endotoxin tested	Same as D 5652 except it is tested for use with hybridoma cells.
D 5773	Dulbecco's Phosphate Buffered Saline	Powder w/o calcium chloride Cell culture tested Formulated at 9.7 grams of powder per liter of medium	Calcium promotes cell adhesion. Use this formulation of D-PBS when tissue or cell dissociation or release is the objective. Also, suitable for studies that involve calcium metabolism.
D 4031	Dulbecco's Phosphate Buffered Saline Modified	Liquid With 36 mg/L sodium pyruvate, 50 mg/L streptomycin sulfate, 100 mg/L kanamycin monosulfate, 1000 mg/L glucose, calcium chloride, and magnesium chloride. Sterile-filtered Endotoxin tested	Fully supplemented isotonic solution. Contains energy sources and antibiotics. Frequently used with primary cells where risk of contamination may be high.
D 6650	Dulbecco's Phosphate Buffered Saline Modified	Powder With 36 mg/L sodium pyruvate, 50 mg/L streptomycin sulfate and 1.000 mg/L glucose. w/o calcium chloride and penicillin G Cell culture tested Penicillin G supplied separately with each package for addition at a final concentration of 1 million units/L. Calcium chloride di-hydrate is supplied separately with each package for final concentration of 133 mg/L.	Isotonic saline solution that contains energy sources and antibiotics. Provides the option to formulate with or without penicillin G or calcium. Frequently used with primary cells where risk of contamination may be high and where tissue dissociation is an objective.

Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium (DME)

Many modifications of Eagle's Medium have been developed since the original formulation appeared in the literature. Among the most widely used of these modifications is Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's medium (DME). DME is a modification of Basal Medium Eagle (BME) that contains a four-fold higher concentration of amino acids and vitamins, as well as additional supplementary components. The original DME formula contains 1000 mg/L of glucose and was first reported for culturing embryonic mouse cells. A further alteration with 4500 mg/L glucose has proved to be optimal for cultivation of certain cell types.

Product #	Product	Description	Application
D 5546	Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium	Liquid With 1000 mg/L glucose and sodium bicarbonate Without L-glutamine With pyridoxine (substitutes pyridoxine HCl for pyridoxal HCl) Cell culture tested Endotoxin tested Sterile-filtered	Liquid form of the original Dulbecco's formulation, offered as D 5523, with one key exception. Pyridoxal, which is an aldehyde, has been replaced with pyridoxine. This modification has been shown to improve the stability of the medium.
D 6046	Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium	Liquid With 1000 mg/L glucose, L-glutamine and sodium bicarbonate With pyridoxine (substitutes pyridoxine HCl for pyridoxal HCl) Cell culture tested Endotoxin tested Sterile-filtered	Fully supplemented liquid form of the original Dulbecco's formulation, offered as D 5523, with one key exception. Pyridoxal, which is an aldehyde, has been replaced with pyridoxine. This modification has been shown to improve the stability of the medium.
D 2429	Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium (10X)	Liquid With 1000 mg/L glucose at 1x With pyridoxine (substitutes pyridoxine HCl for pyridoxal HCl) Without L-glutamine, supplement with 0.584 gm/L L-glutamine, at 1x Without sodium bicarbonate, supplement with 3.7 gm/L sodium bicarbonate, at 1x Without folic acid, supplement with 0.004 gm/L folic acid, at 1x pH 1.8-2.0 at 10x Cell culture tested Endotoxin tested Sterile-filtered	Concentrated liquid version of the original low glucose Dulbecco's formulation, with the pyridoxine substitution (see D 5546). Because of its low solubility, folic acid is added after the medium is diluted to 1x and the pH has been adjusted.
D 5523	Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium	Powder With L-glutamine and 1000 mg/L glucose Without sodium bicarbonate, supplement with 3.7 gm/L sodium bicarbonate Formulated at 10.0 grams of powder per liter of medium Cell culture tested	Provides investigator with the option to modify the buffering system. Also, this is Dulbecco's original low glucose formulation.
D 5921	Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium Modified	Liquid With 1000 mg/L glucose, and sodium bicarbonate Without phenol red and L-glutamine, supplement with 0.584 gm/L L-glutamine With pyridoxine (substitutes pyridoxine HCl for pyridoxal HCl) Cell culture tested Endotoxin tested Sterile-filtered	Liquid form of the original Dulbecco's formulation, offered as D 5523, with one key exception. Pyridoxal, which is an aldehyde, has been replaced with pyridoxine. This modification has been shown to improve the stability of the medium. See D 2902 for note on phenol red
D 2902	Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium Modified	Powder With L-glutamine and 1000 mg/L glucose Without sodium bicarbonate, supplement with 3.7 gm/L of sodium bicarbonate Without phenol red Formulated at 10.0 grams of powder per liter of medium Cell culture tested	Investigators who work with stem cells or cell clones frequently prefer media without phenol red.
D 5671	Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium	Liquid With 4500 mg/L glucose and sodium bicarbonate Without L-glutamine, supplement with 0.584 gm/L L-glutamine Cell culture tested Hybridoma tested Endotoxin tested Sterile-filtered	Complete liquid form of the high glucose modification of Dulbecco's original formulation. Fully tested.
D 5796	Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium	Liquid With 4500 mg/L glucose, L-glutamine and sodium bicarbonate With pyridoxine (substitutes pyridoxine HCl for pyridoxal HCl) Cell culture tested Endotoxin tested Sterile-filtered	Complete liquid form of the high glucose version of Dulbecco's original formulation, with one key exception. Pyridoxal, which is an aldehyde, has been replaced with pyridoxine. This modification has been shown to improve the stability of the medium.
D 2554	Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium (10X)	Liquid With 4500 mg/L glucose at 1x With pyridoxine (substitutes pyridoxine HCl for pyridoxal HCL) Without L-glutamine, supplement with 0.584 gm/L L-glutamine, at 1x Without sodium bicarbonate, supplement with 3.7 gm/L sodium bicarbonate, at 1x Without folic acid, supplement with 0.004 gm/L folic acid, at 1x pH 1.8-2.0 at 10x Cell culture tested Endotoxin tested Sterile-filtered	Concentrated liquid version of the modified high glucose Dulbecco's formulation, with the pyridoxine substitution (see D 5796). Because of its low solubility, folic acid is added after the medium is diluted to 1x and the pH has been adjusted.
D 5648	Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium	Powder With L-glutamine and 4500 mg/L glucose Without sodium bicarbonate, supplement with 3.7 gm/L of sodium bicarbonate Formulated at 13.4 grams of powder per liter of medium Cell culture tested Related to DME, Hybridoma tested (D 6655)	Modified version of D 5523. Many cell lines have been found to require a higher glucose level than was provided in the original formulation.
D 6655	Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium Hybri-Max.	Powder With L-glutamine and 4500 mg/L glucose Without sodium bicarbonate, supplement with 3.7 gm/L of sodium bicarbonate Formulated at 13.4 grams of powder per liter of medium Cell culture tested Hybridoma tested Endotoxin tested	Same as D 5648, except that it is tested with and recommended for use with hybridoma cells. It is the powder version of D 5671.
D 6546	Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium	Liquid With 4500 mg/L glucose, 110 mg/L sodium pyruvate and sodium bicarbonate Without L-glutamine, supplement with 0.584 gm/L L-glutamine With pyridoxine (substitutes pyridoxine HCl for pyridoxal HCl) Cell culture tested Endotoxin tested Sterile-filtered	Pyruvate supplemented, complete, liquid form of the high glucose version of Dulbecco's original formulation, with one key exception. Pyridoxal, which is an aldehyde, has been replaced with pyridoxine. This modification has been shown to improve the stability of the medium. Glutamine to be added by the investigator
D 6429	Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium	Liquid With 4500 mg/L glucose, L-glutamine and sodium pyruvate With pyridoxine (substitutes pyridoxine HCl for pyridoxal HCl) Cell culture tested Endotoxin tested Sterile-filtered	Pyruvate supplemented, complete, liquid form of the high glucose version of Dulbecco's original formulation, with one key exception. Pyridoxal, which is an aldehyde, has been replaced with pyridoxine. This modification has been shown to improve the stability of the medium.
D 7777	Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium	Powder With L-glutamine, 4500 mg/L glucose and 110 mg/L sodium pyruvate Without sodium bicarbonate, supplement with 3.7 gm/L of sodium bicarbonate Formulated at 13.5 grams of powder per liter of medium Cell culture tested Related to DME, Hybridoma tested (D 6780) Cell culture tested	Same as D 5648, except that it is supplemented with the additional energy source pyruvate.
D 6780	Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium Hybri-Max.	Powder With L-glutamine, 4500 mg/L glucose and 110 mg/L sodium pyruvate Without sodium bicarbonate, supplement with 3.7 gm/L of sodium bicarbonate Formulated at 13.5 grams of powder per liter of medium Hybridoma tested Endotoxin tested	Same as D 7777, except that it is tested with and recommended for use with hybridoma cells.
D 6171	Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium HEPES Modified	Liquid With 4500 mg/L glucose, 25 mM HEPES and sodium bicarbonate Without L-glutamine, supplement with 0.584 gm/L L-glutamine With pyridoxine (substitutes pyridoxine HCl for pyridoxal HCl) Cell culture tested Endotoxin tested Sterile-filtered	Pyruvate supplemented, complete, liquid form of the high glucose version of Dulbecco's original formulation, with one key exception. Pyridoxal, which is an aldehyde, has been replaced with pyridoxine. This modification has been shown to improve the stability of the medium. See D 1152 for discussion of HEPES.
D 1152	Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium HEPES Modification	Powder With L-glutamine and 4500 mg/L glucose and 25 mM HEPES Without sodium bicarbonate, supplement with 3.7 gm/L of sodium bicarbonate Formulated at 17.4 grams of powder per liter of medium Cell culture tested	Same as D 5648, except that it is supplemented with HEPES. HEPES supplementation increases the buffering capacity of the medium. Recommended for cells that require a higher pH (7.3-7.6) for optimal growth.
D 0422	Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium	Liquid With 4500 mg/L glucose, and sodium bicarbonate Without L-methionine, L-cystine and L-glutamine, supplement with 0.584 gm/L L-glutamine Cell culture tested Endotoxin tested Sterile-filtered	Deficient liquid form of the high glucose version of Dulbecco's original formulation. Key amino acids have been left out to allow researchers to set up metabolic studies with tagged amino acids.
D 3656	Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium	Powder With L-glutamine and 4500 mg/L glucose Without sodium phosphate and sodium bicarbonate; supplement with 3.7 gm/L of sodium bicarbonate, 0.109 gm/L sodium phosphate mono-basic (anhydrous) Formulated at 13.3 grams of powder per liter of medium Cell culture tested	Provides the investigator with the option and flexibility to control, modify or develop the medium buffering system.
D 5280	Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium Auto-Mod™	Powder Modified for autoclaving With 1000 mg/L glucose Without L-glutamine and sodium bicarbonate; supplement with 0.584 gm/L of L-glutamine; 3.7 gm/L of sodium bicarbonate Formulated at 9.6 grams of powder per liter of medium Cell culture tested	Same as D 5523, except that L-glutamine and sodium bicarbonate have been removed so that this medium can be formulated and autoclaved. After autoclaving, the L-glutamine and sodium bicarbonate can be added.
D 5030	Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium Base	Powder Without L-glutamine, glucose, phenol red, sodium pyruvate and sodium bicarbonate Supplement with 0.584 gm/L of L-glutamine; 1.0 gm/L glucose; 3.7 gm/L of sodium bicarbonate Formulated at 8.3 grams of powder per liter of medium Cell culture tested	The most basic formulation offered. This formulation is used by investigators who want to start with the essential components of DME, and have the flexibility to optimize the formula for their own application.

DME/Nutrient Mixture F-12 Hams (DME/F-12)

During the past decade, researchers have reported the culture of a variety of cell lines in serum-free medium that contained, instead of serum, a supplement of nutrients, growth factors and hormones. For example, Mather and Sato reported the successful cultivation of Leydig cells and Sertoli cells in serum-free medium that contained insulin, transferrin,epidermal growth factor, leutinizing hormone or follicle stimulating hormone, somatomedin and growth hormone. Although the hormones and their concentrations are specific for the type of cell under study, the medium found to be most satisfactory for studies of this type was a 1:1 mixture of Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium (DME) and Ham's F-12 Nutrient Mixture. HEPES buffer is included in the formulation at a final concentration of 15 mM to compensate for the loss of buffering capacity incurred by eliminating serum.

Product #	Product	Description	Application
D 6421	Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium/Nutrient F-12 Ham	Liquid With 15 mM HEPES and sodium bicarbonate With pyridoxine (substitutes pyridoxine HCl for pyridoxal HCl) Without L-glutamine, supplement with 0.365 gm/L L-glutamine Endotoxin tested Cell culture tested Sterile-filtered	Liquid form of original 1:1 mixture of DMEM/Ham's F-12, with one important exception. Pyridoxal, which is an aldehyde, has been replaced with pyridoxine. This modification has been shown to improve the stability of the medium. Suitable for growth of wide range of cell types in low serum conditions.
D 8437	Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium/Nutrient F-12 Ham	Liquid With 15 mM HEPES, L-glutamine and sodium bicarbonate With pyridoxine (substitutes pyridoxine HCl for pyridoxal HCl) Endotoxin tested Cell culture tested Sterile-filtered	Same as D 6421, except the L-glutamine is added to the medium at time of manufacture.
D 8900	Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium/Nutrient F-12 Ham	Powder With L-glutamine and 15 mM HEPES w/o sodium bicarbonate, to be supplemented with 1.2 gm/L of sodium bicarbonate Formulated at 15.6 grams of powder per liter of medium Cell culture tested	Powder form of original 1:1 mixture of DME/Ham's F-12. Suitable for growth of a wide range of cell types in low serum conditions.
D 6905	Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium/Nutrient F-12 Ham Hybi-Max.	Powder With L-glutamine and 15 mM HEPES w/o sodium bicarbonate, to be supplemented with 1.2 gm/L of sodium bicarbonate Formulated at 15.6 grams of powder per liter of medium Cell culture tested	Formulation is identical to D 8900. This formulation has been tested with and is recommended for use with hybridoma cells.
D 6434	Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium/Nutrient F-12 Ham	Liquid With 15 mM HEPES and sodium bicarbonate Without phenol red and L-glutamine, supplement with 0.365 gm/L L-glutamine With pyridoxine (substitutes pyridoxine HCl for pyridoxal HCl) Endotoxin tested Sterile-filtered	Pyridoxal, which is an aldehyde, has been replaced with pyridoxine. This modification has been shown to improve the stability of the medium. Suitable for growth of a wide range of cell types in low serum conditions. Absence of phenol red makes this a preferred medium for clonal and stem cell culture.
D 2906	Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium/Nutrient F-12 Ham	Powder With L-glutamine and 15 mM HEPES Without phenol red and sodium bicarbonate, to be supplemented with 1.2 gm/L of sodium bicarbonate Formulated at 15.6 grams of powder per liter of medium Cell culture tested	Suitable for growth of a wide range of cell types in low serum conditions. The removal of phenol red is often preferred by investigators working with clonal and stem cell cultures.
D 6559	Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium/Nutrient F-12 Ham	Liquid With sodium bicarbonate Without phenol red and L-glutamine, supplement with 0.365 gm/L L-glutamine With pyridoxine (substitutes pyridoxine HCl for pyridoxal HCl) Endotoxin tested Cell culture tested Sterile-filtered	Pyridoxal, which is an aldehyde, has been replaced with pyridoxine. This modification has been shown to improve the stability of the medium. Suitable for growth of a wide range of cell types in low serum conditions. The absence of phenol red makes this a preferred medium for clonal and stem cell culture. The absence of HEPES allows the investigator to optimize the buffering system.
D 8062	Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium/Nutrient F-12 Ham	Liquid With L-glutamine and sodium bicarbonate Without HEPES With pyridoxine (substitutes pyridoxine HCl for pyridoxal HCl) Endotoxin tested Cell culture tested Sterile-filtered	Same as D 8437, except that HEPES has not been added to the formulation. Allows the investigator to optimize the buffering system.
D 0547	Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium/Nutrient F-12 Ham	Powder With L-glutamine and trace elements Without HEPES and sodium bicarbonate, to be supplemented with 1.2 gm/L of sodium bicarbonate Formulated at 12.1 grams of powder per liter of medium Cell culture tested	Powder form of original 1:1 mixture of DME/Ham's F-12, supplemented with trace elements. Trace element supplementation of the original formula (D 8900) is required for the completely serum free culture of a wide range of cell types.
D 9785	Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium/Nutrient F-12 Ham Base	Powder With 15 mM HEPES Without L-glutamine, L-leucine, L-lysine, L-methionine, calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, magnesium sulfate, phenol red and sodium bicarbonate Supplement with 0.1545 gm/L calcium chloride; 0.365 gm/L L-glutamine; 0.05905 gm/L L-leucine, 0.09125 gm/L L-lysine; 0.0612 gm/L magnesium chloride, 0.04884 gm/L magnesium sulfate, 0.0172 gm/L L-methionine, and 1.2 gm/L sodium bicarbonate Formulated at 14.8 grams of powder per liter of medium Cell culture tested	The most basic formulation offered. This formulation is used by investigators who want to start with the essential components of (1:1) DME/Ham's F-12, and have the flexibility to optimize the formula for their own application. This base formulation is particularly suitable for studies of cell protein metabolism with label-tagged amino acids.