Ham’s Nutrient Mixture and Derivatives

Ham's nutrient mixtures were originally developed to support the growth of several clones of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, as well as clones of HeLa and mouse L-cells.  These mixtures were formulated for use with or without serum supplementation, depending on the cell type cultured. 

• Ham's F-10 has been shown to support the growth of human diploid cells, white blood cells for chromosomal analysis, and primary explants of rat, rabbit and chicken tissues.  
• Ham's F-12 has been used for the growth of primary rat hepatocytes and rat prostate epithelial cells.  A clonal toxicity assay using CHO cells has been reported with Ham's F-12 as the medium of choice.  Ham's F-12 is also available with 25 mM HEPES buffer that provides more effective buffering in the optimum pH range of 7.2-7.4 
• Coon's modification of Ham's F-12 was developed for culturing hybrid cells produced by viral fusion.  This modification consists of 2x the standard concentration of amino acids and pyruvate, plus the inclusion of ascorbic acid and adjusted salt concentrations.  The Coon’s formula contains 0.863 mg/L zinc sulfate, which may render it unsuitable for culturing mouse L-cells. 
• Kaighn's modification of Ham's F-12 (also called Ham’s F-12K) has increased concentrations of select amino acids and pyruvate, as well as modified salts (Konigsberg’s formula).  This medium was designed to support the growth of differentiated rat and chicken cells, and primary human hepatocytes. 

DMEM

DMEM/F12

RPMI 1640 Media

MEM

Medium 199

Other Classical Media

Media Cross Reference Guide

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