Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium F12 (DMEM F12)

Culture your cells with Gibco DMEM F12

Gibco Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium: Nutrient Mixture F12 (DMEM F12) is a widely used basal medium for supporting the growth of many different mammalian cells including MDCK, glial cells, fibroblasts, human endothelial cells, and rat fibroblasts. DMEM F12 is a 1:1 mixture of DMEM and Ham's F12 media. This formulation combines DMEM's high concentrations of glucose, amino acids, and vitamins with the wide variety of components found in Ham's F12 media.

Gibco DMEM F12 is formulated for superior quality and delivers greater reliability, consistency, and improved control in mammalian cell culture.

Along with the glucose, amino acids, and vitamins in DMEM, DMEM F12 contains additional components found in Ham’s F12 media, including zinc, putrescine, hypoxanthine, and thymidine. DMEM F12 may also include other factors such as L-glutamine and phenol red indicator. However, due to its lack of proteins, lipids, and growth factors, DMEM F12 is commonly supplemented with fetal bovine serum (FBS). In addition, the sodium bicarbonate buffer system used in DMEM F12 requires a 5–10% CO₂ environment for maintenance of physiological pH.

Thermo Fisher Scientific offers a variety of DMEM F12 modifications for a range of cell culture applications—view an example of a detailed DMEM/F12 formulation here. Learn about additional DMEM/F12 formulation options in the Cell Culture Media Formulation Tool.

DMEM alone is rich in nutrients such as amino acids and vitamins, while Ham’s F12 media contains a higher diversity of components. Therefore, DMEM F12 is a more complex media than DMEM, including many additional factors (e.g., zinc, thymidine) that are generally not found in more standard basal media formulations. 

Take your cell culture to the next level with enhanced DMEM formulations. Explore the following formulations that can help improve your cell viability, serum supplementation, cold storage constraints, and clinical cell culture.

Taking your work to the clinic? Gibco Cell Therapy Systems (CTS) Knockout DMEM F12 is a cGMP manufactured formula designed for culturing human embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells. 

If you require a custom DMEM F12 formulation, use our media customization services to select the DMEM F12 composition that is right for you, including custom media components, packaging, and QC testing.

Explore services for DMEM F12 customization