Advanced DMEM/F-12 (Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium/Ham's F-12) is a widely used basal medium that allows the culture of mammalian cells with reduced Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) supplementation. Compared to classic DMEM/F-12, serum supplementation can be reduced by 50–90% with no change in growth rate or morphology. Cells successfully cultured in Advanced DMEM/F-12, with no adaptation, include MRC-5, SP2, Vero, WI-38 and Jurkat.

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Using Advanced DMEM/F-12
Advanced DMEM/F-12 is unique from other media due to addition of the following ingredients to allow for serum reduction: ethanolamine, glutathione, ascorbic acid, insulin, transferrin, AlbuMAX™ II lipid-rich bovine serum albumin for cell culture, and the trace elements sodium selenite, ammonium metavanadate, cupric sulfate, and manganous chloride. Advanced DMEM/F-12 requires supplementation with 1–5% Fetal Bovine Serum and 4 mM L-glutamine or GlutaMAX™ supplement. Many cell lines do not require adaptation to this media. The FBS concentration must be optimized for each cell line to obtain maximum serum reduction. Advanced Advanced DMEM/F-12 uses a sodium bicarbonate buffer system (3.7 g/L) and therefore requires a 5–10% CO₂ environment to maintain physiological pH.