Roswell Park Memorial Institute (RPMI) 1640 medium was originally developed to culture human leukemic cells in suspension and as a monolayer. RPMI 1640 has since been found suitable for a variety of mammalian cells including HeLa, Jurkat, MCF-7, PC12, PBMC, astrocytes and carcinomas. Life Technologies offers a variety of Gibco™ RPMI 1640 modifications for a range of cell culture applications. Find the right formulation using the media selector tool.

The complete formulation is available.

Gibco™ RPMI 1640 is unique from other media because it contains the reducing agent glutathione and high concentrations of vitamins. RPMI 1640 contains biotin, vitamin B₁₂ and PABA which are not found in Eagle's Minimal Essential Medium or Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium. In addition, the vitamins inositol and choline are present in very high concentrations.

Product Intended Use
For in vitro diagnostic use. CAUTION: Not for human or animal therapeutic use. Uses other than the intended use may be a violation of local law. Customers using Gibco™ RPMI 1640 in a manufacturing process, who have a submission with the FDA, may request a letter of authorization from Life Technologies to reference our Type II Drug Master File (DMF).

RPMI 1640 contains no proteins, lipids, or growth factors. Therefore, RPMI 1640 requires supplementation, commonly with 10% Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS). RPMI 1640 uses a sodium bicarbonate buffer system (2.0 g/L) and therefore requires a 5-10% CO₂ environment to maintain physiological pH.

Powder forms of Gibco™ cell culture medium require sodium bicarbonate supplementation, pH adjustment, and filtration at the time of preparation (see protocol for details).