Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium F12 (DMEM F12)

In recent years, researchers have reported the culture of a variety of cell lines in serum-free media that contains a supplement of nutrients, growth factors, and hormones in the place of serum. Mather and Sato (BBRC, 1985) reported the successful cultivation of Leydig 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 optimal for these studies was a 1:1 mixture of Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium (DMEM) and Ham's F-12 Nutrient Mixture. This mixture known as DMEM/F12 medium contains 21 amino acids, 10 vitamins, glucose, iron, and zinc, among other components. 

DMEM/F12 is a richer and more complex media than DMEM. HEPES buffer can be also included in the formulation at a final concentration of 15 mM to compensate for the loss of buffering capacity that is incurred by eliminating serum. This synthetic medium does not contain any serum, proteins, lipids, or growth factors and thus may require supplementation with fetal bovine serum (FBS) depending on the type of cell culture. Some commercial formulations may or may not include glutamine or phenol red.

• DMEM/F12 Applications