Ham's F-12 Nutrient Mixture (F-12) was designed for serum-free, single-cell plating of Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells. F-12 has since been used for serum-free growth of CHO cultures as well as serum-supplemented growth of other mammalian cells, including chondrocytes and rat prostate epithelial cells. We offer a variety of F-12 modifications for a range of cell culture applications. Find the right formulation using the media selector tool.

The complete formulation is available.

Using F-12
Compared to other basal media, F-12 contains a wider variety of components, including zinc, putrescine, hypoxanthine, and thymidine. F-12 contains no proteins or growth factors. Therefore, F-12 requires supplementation, commonly with 10% Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS). F-12 uses a sodium bicarbonate buffer system (1.176 g/L), and therefore requires a 5–10% CO₂ environment to maintain physiological pH.