RPMI 1640, also known as RPMI medium, is a

growth medium A growth medium or culture medium is a solid, liquid, or semi-solid designed to support the growth of a population of microorganisms or cells via the process of cell proliferation or small plants like the moss ''Physcomitrella patens''. Differen ...

used in

cell culture Cell culture or tissue culture is the process by which cells are grown under controlled conditions, generally outside of their natural environment. The term "tissue culture" was coined by American pathologist Montrose Thomas Burrows. This te ...

. RPMI 1640 was developed by George E. Moore, Robert E. Gerner, and H. Addison Franklin in 1966 at

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is a cancer research and treatment center located in Buffalo, New York. Founded by surgeon Roswell Park in 1898, the center was the first in the United States to specifically focus on cancer research. The ...

(formerly known as Roswell Park Memorial Institute), from where it derives its name. A modification of McCoy′s 5A medium (or RPMI 1630), it was originally formulated to support

lymphoblastoid __NOTOC__ A lymphoblast is a modified naive lymphocyte with altered cell morphology. It occurs when the lymphocyte is activated by an antigen (from antigen-presenting cells) and increased in volume by nucleus and cytoplasm growth as well as new mRN ...

cells in suspension cultures, but can also support a wide variety of adherent cells. It has traditionally been used for growth of

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

lymphocyte A lymphocyte is a type of white blood cell (leukocyte) in the immune system of most vertebrates. Lymphocytes include natural killer cells (which function in cell-mediated, cytotoxic innate immunity), T cells (for cell-mediated, cytotoxic ad ...

s. This medium contains a great deal of

phosphate In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid . The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phospho ...

and is formulated for use in a 5%

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...

atmosphere. RPMI 1640 has traditionally been used for the serum-free expansion of human lymphoid cells. RPMI 1640 uses a bicarbonate buffering system and differs from most mammalian cell culture media in its typical pH 8 formulation. Properly supplemented with serum or an adequate serum replacement, RPMI 1640 allows the cultivation of many cell types, especially human T/B-lymphocytes, bone marrow cells, and hybridoma cells.

Composition

One liter of RPMI 1640 contains: *Glucose (2 g) *pH indicator (

phenol red Phenol red (also known as phenolsulfonphthalein or PSP) is a pH indicator frequently used in cell biology laboratories. Chemical structure and properties Phenol red exists as a red crystal that is stable in air. Its solubility is 0.77 grams per ...

, 5 mg) *Salts (6 g sodium chloride, 2 g sodium bicarbonate, 1.512 g disodium phosphate, 400 mg potassium chloride, 100 mg magnesium sulfate, and 100 mg calcium nitrate) *

Amino acid Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although hundreds of amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the alpha-amino acids, which comprise proteins. Only 22 alpha am ...

s (300 mg glutamine; 200 mg arginine; 50 mg each asparagine, cystine, leucine, and isoleucine; 40 mg lysine hydrochloride; 30 mg serine; 20 mg each aspartic acid, glutamic acid, hydroxyproline, proline, threonine, tyrosine, and valine; 15 mg each histidine, methionine, and phenylalanine; 10 mg glycine; 5 mg tryptophan; and 1 mg reduced glutathione) *

Vitamin A vitamin is an organic molecule (or a set of molecules closely related chemically, i.e. vitamers) that is an Nutrient#Essential nutrients, essential micronutrient that an organism needs in small quantities for the proper functioning of its ...

s (35 mg ''i''-inositol; 3 mg choline chloride; 1 mg each ''para''-aminobenzoic acid, folic acid, nicotinamide, pyridoxine hydrochloride, and thiamine hydrochloride; 0.25 mg calcium pantothenate; 0.2 mg each biotin and riboflavin; and 0.005 mg cyanocobalamin)

References

External links

* http://www.bioind.com/RPMI1640 * http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/Area_of_Interest/Life_Science/Cell_Culture/Product_Lines/Classic_Media___Salts/RPMI_Media.html * http://www.invitrogen.com/site/us/en/home/Products-and-Services/Applications/Cell-Culture/Mammalian-Cell-Culture/Classical_Media/RPMI.html * http://www.captivatebio.com/rpmi-1640-medium.html Cell culture media {{Cell-biology-stub