PurMa chemically defined RPMI 1640

PurMa™Chemically Defined Roswell-Park Memorial Institute 1640 (CD-RPMI-1640)

(43 customer reviews)

PurMa™ Chemically Defined Roswell-Park Memorial Institute 1640 (CD-RPMI-1640) is a 100% synthetic, FBS-free medium designed for mammalian cell culture. This PurMa chemically defined RPMI – 1640 formulation contains no animal-derived components and replaces unstable L‑glutamine with L‑alanyl‑L‑glutamine for extended shelf life and improved buffering capacity. A proprietary mix of synthetic growth factors and nutrients supports robust growth while delivering high lot-to-lot consistency, ideal for regulatory-sensitive applications and reproducible cell-based assays.

SKU: N/A Categories: Cell Culture Media, Roswell-Park Memorial Institute 1640 Tags: Advanced, Cell Culture, Human Transferrin, L-Alanyl-L-Glutamine, Recombinant Insulin, RPMI 1640, Serum Reduction

Description

Product Description

PurMa™ Chemically Defined Roswell-Park Memorial Institute 1640 (CD-RPMI-1640) is a fully synthetic, serum-free medium optimized for mammalian cell culture. Unlike conventional RPMI that requires 10% FBS, PurMa chemically defined RPMI 1640 contains no serum, no FBS, and no traces of animal-derived components. Every ingredient is known, controlled, and chemically defined.

This medium is ideal when you need reproducible performance, regulatory compliance, and clean experimental backgrounds without undefined serum variables.

Key Features and Benefits

  • 100% chemically defined, FBS-free formulation
    CD RPMI 1640 medium contains no serum, no FBS, and no animal-origin components. This reduces variability, simplifies regulatory documentation, and supports serum-independent workflows.
  • L‑alanyl‑L‑glutamine instead of L‑glutamine
    The base of PurMa chemically defined RPMI 1640 uses L‑alanyl‑L‑glutamine for improved stability. This dipeptide minimizes glutamine breakdown, extends shelf life, and enhances buffering capacity, which can lower the risk of contamination and pH drift.
  • Proprietary synthetic growth factor cocktail
    A defined blend of synthetic growth factors, hormones, and nutrients replaces serum functions. The result is reliable growth and viability without serum supplementation or animal-derived additives.
  • Consistent, controlled environment
    Every component in CD-RPMI-1640 is characterized and quantified. This allows precise interpretation of cellular responses, improved assay reproducibility, and easier method transfer across labs.
  • Optimized for a wide range of mammalian cells
    The formulation supports adaptation of many cell lines typically maintained in classical RPMI + 10% FBS. Once adapted, cells can be maintained and frozen using the same PurMa chemically defined RPMI 1640 system.
  • Stemcell technologies RPMI 1640 is a widely used cell culture medium that supports reliable growth and maintenance of diverse cell lines for advanced research applications.

 

Chemically Defined RPMI Vs RPMI1640 with FBS

 

Formulation

 

  • Synthetic growth factor and hormone cocktail
    A proprietary mixture of fully synthetic growth factors, hormones, and nutrients supports proliferation and viability without any serum or animal-derived components.
  • This composition allows truly serum-independent culture while preserving performance for demanding research and preclinical workflows.
  • Gradual Transition from FBS-Containing Media
  • For reliable adaptation from 10% FBS media to PurMa chemically defined RPMI 1640, a stepwise reduction of FBS is strongly recommended. Use at least two control conditions:
  1. A reference culture maintained in standard RPMI + 10% FBS only.
  2. A culture in PurMa chemically defined RPMI 1640 + 10% FBS that will undergo staged FBS reduction.
  • A typical transition schedule:
  • Start: 10% FBS + PurMa™ Chemically Defined Medium (adaptation culture)
  • After 48 hours: 8% FBS + PurMa™ Chemically Defined Medium
  • After 48 hours: 6% FBS + PurMa™ Chemically Defined Medium
  • After 48 hours: 4% FBS + PurMa™ Chemically Defined Medium
  • After 48 hours: 2% FBS + PurMa™ Chemically Defined Medium
  • After 48 hours: 1% FBS + PurMa™ Chemically Defined Medium
  • After 24 hours: 0% FBS, PurMa chemically defined RPMI 1640 only

At each step: Spin down cells, fully discard the spent medium and replace with fresh medium containing the next lower FBS level. You do not need to start with an extremely high cell density; around 500,000 cells/ml is usually sufficient. Use more than one plate or flask during adaptation, since a small proportion may experience stress or contamination.

Long-Term Culture and Freezing

  1. Once cells are fully adapted to PurMa chemically defined medium RPMI 1640, they should remain in the same chemically defined formulation and vendor for routine culture and cryopreservation.
  2. Expand adapted cells and prepare multiple plates for freezing.
  3. When thawing adapted cells during the first week, supplement PurMa chemically defined RPMI 1640 with 10% PurMa™ CD Booster (Cat# P3C10144) to support recovery.
  4. Maintain cells exclusively in PurMa chemically defined medium after adaptation to preserve phenotype and performance.
  5. This workflow supports stable, long-term, serum-free culture suitable for reproducible experiments and regulated environments.

 

The CD-RPMI-1640 includes a base formulation including L-Alanine -L glutamine : Base formulation of Chemically Defined RPMI-1640 , P3C310109

         FAQs

  • You can enter these into Rank Math’s FAQ block so they’re marked up as FAQPage schema.
  • Q1. What is PurMa chemically defined RPMI 1640?
    A1. PurMa chemically defined RPMI 1640 is a fully synthetic, serum-free version of RPMI-1640 designed for mammalian cell culture. It contains only chemically defined components and a proprietary synthetic growth factor cocktail, with no FBS or animal-derived materials.
  • Q2. Does PurMa chemically defined RPMI 1640 contain any FBS or animal components?
    A2. No. PurMa chemically defined RPMI 1640 is completely FBS-free and animal component–free. All nutrients, growth factors, and hormones are synthetic and chemically defined, which supports regulatory compliance and reduces lot-to-lot variability.
  • Q3. Why does this medium use L‑alanyl‑L‑glutamine instead of L‑glutamine?
    A3. L‑alanyl‑L‑glutamine is more stable than free L‑glutamine. It slows glutamine degradation, extends medium shelf life, and improves buffering capacity. This helps maintain a more stable culture environment and can reduce contamination risks related to pH shifts and breakdown products.
  • Q4. How do I transition cells from 10% FBS RPMI to PurMa chemically defined RPMI 1640?
    A4. Transition cells gradually by reducing FBS in steps. Start with 10% FBS in PurMa chemically defined medium, then lower FBS to 8%, 6%, 4%, 2%, and 1% every 48 hours, spinning down and fully replacing the medium each time. Finally, move to 0% FBS and use only PurMa chemically defined RPMI 1640. Keep parallel control cultures in standard 10% FBS medium.
  • Q5. Do I need booster supplements with PurMa chemically defined RPMI 1640?
    A5. For routine culture of adapted cells, PurMa chemically defined RPMI 1640 is used as supplied. During the first week after thawing adapted cells, we recommend adding 10% PurMa CD Booster (Cat# P3C10144) to support robust recovery.
  • Q6. What applications is PurMa chemically defined RPMI 1640 suitable for?
    A6. PurMa chemically defined RPMI 1640 is ideal for serum-free mammalian cell culture, mechanistic studies requiring low background, assay development, bioproduction optimization, and projects that demand high reproducibility and simplified regulatory documentation due to its fully defined, animal-free composition.
  • Q7. What is RPMI- 1640 used for in cell culture?
    A7. 1640 medium rpmi is widely used for mammalian cell culture, supporting lymphocytes, hybridomas, and many suspension and adherent cell lines. In its chemically defined form, such as PurMa chemically defined RPMI 1640, it enables serum-free, animal component–free culture with improved reproducibility.

References

  1. Growth of NS0 cells in protein-free, chemically defined medium. Gorfien S, et al,Biotechnol Prog. 2000 Sep-Oct;16(5):682-7. doi: 10.1021/bp000109a. PMID: 11027156
  2. Culture of normal human leukocytes. Moore GE, et al. 1967 Feb 20;199(8):519-24. PMID: 4960081
  3. Leukocytes as carriers in the transmission of bovine leukemia: certain morphologic and functional characteristics of cultured leukocytes from normal and leukemic cattle. Dunne HW, et al. Am J Vet Res. 1970 Apr;31(4):597-617. PMID: 5437104.
  4. Long-term culture of human leukaemic leukocytes. Pössnerová V, et al. 1970;17(5):513-23. PMID: 5274436
  • Parameter Specification
    Appearance Red, clear liquid
    pH  7.2 ± 0.1
    Osmolality  275-360 mOsm/L
    Endotoxin  NMT< 2EU/mL
    Mycoplasma Negative
    Suitability  Suitable for mammalian cell culture
    Additive  Sodium pyruvate
    Indicator  Phenol red
    Mycoplasma Detection Negative
    Sterility Tested  Sterile filtered using 0.1 µm filter, 3 Times
    Form Liquid
    Shipping Condition  Room temperature, Overnight

Additional information

Condition

CD-RPMI-1640 Standard Formulation, CD-RPMI-1640 w/o L-Alanyl-L-Glutamine, CD-RPMI-1640 w/o Phenol Red, CD-RPMI-1640 w/o Sodium Bicarbonate, CD-RPMI-1640 w/o Glucose, CD-RPMI-1640 w/o L-Alanyl-L-Glutamine, w/o Phenol Red, CD-RPMI-1640 w/o Phenol Red, w/o Sodium Bicarbonate, CD-RPMI-1640 w/o L-Alanyl-L-Glutamine, w/o Phenol Red, w/o Sodium Bicarbonate, CD-RPMI-1640 With Low Glucose (1 g/L), CD-RPMI-1640 With High Sodium Bicarbonate (3.7 g/L), CD-RPMI-1640 With 15 mM HEPES (3.6 g/L), CD-RPMI-1640 With 25 mM HEPES (5.9 g/L), CD-RPMI-1640 With 15 mM HEPES (3.6 g/L), High Sodium Bicarbonate (3.7 g/L), CD-RPMI-1640 With 25 mM HEPES (5.9 g/L), High Sodium Bicarbonate (3.7 g/L, CD-RPMI-1640 w/o Phenol Red, with 15 mM HEPES (3.6 g/L), CD-RPMI-1640 w/o Phenol Red, with 25 mM HEPES (5.9 g/L), CD-RPMI-1640 w/o Phenol Red, High Sodium Bicarbonate (3.7 g/L)
Size

1X 100 ml, 1X 1000 ml, 1X 500 ml

43 reviews for PurMa™Chemically Defined Roswell-Park Memorial Institute 1640 (CD-RPMI-1640)

  1. azadi@live.ca –

    Review: we have purchased Lipid Depleted FBS , DMEM F12 …. they were good quality and decent price
    Have you purchased: Yes
    Time of submission: 29-Jan-2025 23:10:30
    Ease of placing the order: 5/5

  2. Anonymous –

    Review:
    Have you purchased:
    Time of submission: 21-Feb-2025 15:30:00
    Ease of placing the order: ‘not given’

  3. Gregory-Mullen@ouhsc.edu –

    Review: We buy *all* of our cell culture media, fetal bovine sera, and lipid-depleted sera from PurMa. The quality of their reagents is absolutely top-notch, giving us reliable, repeatable results in our experiments. We highly recommend PurMa!
    Have you purchased: Yes
    Time of submission: 21-Feb-2025 15:46:22
    Ease of placing the order: 5/5

  4. Anonymous –

    Review:
    Have you purchased:
    Time of submission: 24-Feb-2025 13:50:14
    Ease of placing the order: ‘not given’

  5. lrothblu@ouhsc.edu –

    Review: Serum worked beautifully. Cells grew well and had their usual cycle time. Tissue culture medium also worked very well.
    Have you purchased: It is my first Purchase
    Time of submission: 24-Feb-2025 13:53:22
    Ease of placing the order: 5/5

  6. Anonymous –

    Review:
    Have you purchased:
    Time of submission: 27-Feb-2025 17:42:44
    Ease of placing the order: ‘not given’

  7. Anonymous –

    Review:
    Have you purchased:
    Time of submission: 05-Mar-2025 16:31:44
    Ease of placing the order: ‘not given’

  8. michael-rudolph@ouhsc.edu –

    Review: I have worked directly with PurMa biologics on a number of projects ongoing in my lab. I find the media and the specialty Lipid Depleted Serum to be high quality and very consistent among batches, which is critical to our adipogenesis projects using primary stem cells. Also, the service from PurMa is outstanding for my lab.
    Have you purchased: Yes
    Time of submission: 05-Mar-2025 16:35:21
    Ease of placing the order: 5/5

  9. Anonymous –

    Review:
    Have you purchased:
    Time of submission: 05-Mar-2025 17:29:13
    Ease of placing the order: ‘not given’

  10. Anonymous –

    Review:
    Have you purchased:
    Time of submission: 10-Mar-2025 14:32:38
    Ease of placing the order: ‘not given’

  11. jkurien@hausbio.com –

    Review: We have been working with PurMa biologics for the past several years , we buy cell culture related media like DMEM F12 and EMEM and Fetal Bovine Serum . We appreciate the high quality and reasonable price, and great customer service.
    Have you purchased: Yes
    Time of submission: 12-Mar-2025 12:34:09
    Ease of placing the order: 5/5

  12. hyeungk1968@gmail.comthe –

    Review: I used Lipid Free horse serum of PurMa Biologics.
    The quality is great!
    Have you purchased: Yes
    Time of submission: 17-Mar-2025 12:09:58
    Ease of placing the order: 5/5

  13. jaya-krishnan@omrf.org –

    Review: I started my lab using the regular Gibco media components. We have shifted to Purma past 6 months and see no difference in the quality of our cell culture. Simply saying that Purma is cheaper, quicker to deliver and as good as Gibco. The best part was that Purma customized several media for our fish cell lines which was really helpful. Lastly, Seif walked through the customization of media over Zoom, that gave a lot of confidence for using those media solutions.
    Have you purchased: Yes
    Time of submission: 17-Mar-2025 14:22:58
    Ease of placing the order: 4/5

  14. tayyab-afzal@omrf.org –

    Review: We bought Premium FBS and DMEM cell culture media from PurMa Biologics. We are using them for several mammalian cell line and primary cell culture and the cell growth is perfectly fine. We are totally satisfied with the product quality. Importantly as local vendor, we can have the product available as per our demand ASAP.
    Have you purchased: Yes
    Time of submission: 18-Mar-2025 10:01:50
    Ease of placing the order: 5/5

  15. Fitzkr@gmail.com –

    Review: We purchase everything we need related to cell and tissue culture from PurMa, reagents like: DMEM, LL15, EMEM, FBS, trypsin, antibiotics mix100X and…
    Always great quality, fast processing and shipping.
    We are totally satisfied.
    Have you purchased: Yes
    Time of submission: 22-Mar-2025 10:47:00
    Ease of placing the order: 5/5

  16. vmadka@ouhsc.edu –

    Review:
    Have you purchased: Yes
    Time of submission: 24-Mar-2025 15:02:40
    Ease of placing the order: 4/5

  17. Anupam-Mandal@ouhsc.edu –

    Review: Excellent
    Have you purchased: Yes
    Time of submission: 24-Mar-2025 15:05:43
    Ease of placing the order: 5/5

  18. rohan-varshney@ouhsc.edu –

    Review: Reliable and dependable products. We purchased lipid-depleted FBS (LD-FBS) from PurMa Biologics and it worked great. We cross-checked the lipid content in the serum by GC-MS and Triglyceride assay and as advertised, did not find any lipids in the FBS.
    Have you purchased: Yes
    Time of submission: 24-Mar-2025 15:06:38
    Ease of placing the order: 5/5

  19. Surendra-Shukla@ouhsc.edu –

    Review: Very fast, efficient, and economic service. Great for new PIs like me.
    Have you purchased: Yes
    Time of submission: 25-Apr-2025 14:00:04
    Ease of placing the order: 5/5

  20. vmadka@ouhsc.edu –

    Review:
    Have you purchased: Yes
    Time of submission: 24-Mar-2025 15:02:40
    Ease of placing the order: 4/5

  21. Anupam-Mandal@ouhsc.edu –

    Review: Excellent
    Have you purchased: Yes
    Time of submission: 24-Mar-2025 15:05:43
    Ease of placing the order: 5/5

  22. anil-singh@ouhsc.edu –

    Review: NA
    Have you purchased: Yes
    Time of submission: 25-Mar-2025 10:11:14
    Ease of placing the order: 5/5

  23. Surendra-Shukla@ouhsc.edu –

    Review: Best quality products, best price.
    Have you purchased: Yes
    Time of submission: 18-Apr-2025 09:51:03
    Ease of placing the order: 5/5

  24. madhusmita-rout@ouhsc.edu –

    Review:
    Have you purchased: Yes
    Time of submission: 21-Apr-2025 11:15:46
    Ease of placing the order: 5/5

  25. alexholloway@mesogen.com –

    Review: This serum appears to be a high quality product and worked well for our needs. Purma has an extensive catalog for cell culturing supplies which we are glad we came across.
    Have you purchased: It is my first Purchase
    Time of submission: 24-Apr-2025 16:54:29
    Ease of placing the order: 5/5

  26. jkurien@hausbio.com –

    Review: We have been working with PurMa biologics for the past several years , we buy cell culture related media like DMEM F12 and EMEM and Fetal Bovine Serum . We appreciate the high quality and reasonable price, and great customer service.
    Have you purchased: Yes
    Time of submission: 12-Mar-2025 12:34:09
    Ease of placing the order: 5/5

  27. lrothblu@ouhsc.edu –

    Review: Serum worked beautifully. Cells grew well and had their usual cycle time. Tissue culture medium also worked very well.
    Have you purchased: It is my first Purchase
    Time of submission: 24-Feb-2025 13:53:22
    Ease of placing the order: 5/5

  28. hyeungk1968@gmail.comthe –

    Review: I used Lipid Free horse serum of PurMa Biologics.
    The quality is great!
    Have you purchased: Yes
    Time of submission: 17-Mar-2025 12:09:58
    Ease of placing the order: 5/5

  29. jaya-krishnan@omrf.org –

    Review: I started my lab using the regular Gibco media components. We have shifted to Purma past 6 months and see no difference in the quality of our cell culture. Simply saying that Purma is cheaper, quicker to deliver and as good as Gibco. The best part was that Purma customized several media for our fish cell lines which was really helpful. Lastly, Seif walked through the customization of media over Zoom, that gave a lot of confidence for using those media solutions.
    Have you purchased: Yes
    Time of submission: 17-Mar-2025 14:22:58
    Ease of placing the order: 4/5

  30. michael-rudolph@ouhsc.edu –

    Review: I have worked directly with PurMa biologics on a number of projects ongoing in my lab. I find the media and the specialty Lipid Depleted Serum to be high quality and very consistent among batches, which is critical to our adipogenesis projects using primary stem cells. Also, the service from PurMa is outstanding for my lab.
    Have you purchased: Yes
    Time of submission: 05-Mar-2025 16:35:21
    Ease of placing the order: 5/5

  31. tayyab-afzal@omrf.org –

    Review: We bought Premium FBS and DMEM cell culture media from PurMa Biologics. We are using them for several mammalian cell line and primary cell culture and the cell growth is perfectly fine. We are totally satisfied with the product quality. Importantly as local vendor, we can have the product available as per our demand ASAP.
    Have you purchased: Yes
    Time of submission: 18-Mar-2025 10:01:50
    Ease of placing the order: 5/5

  32. Fitzkr@gmail.com –

    Review: We purchase everything we need related to cell and tissue culture from PurMa, reagents like: DMEM, LL15, EMEM, FBS, trypsin, antibiotics mix100X and…
    Always great quality, fast processing and shipping.
    We are totally satisfied.
    Have you purchased: Yes
    Time of submission: 22-Mar-2025 10:47:00
    Ease of placing the order: 5/5

  33. Gregory-Mullen@ouhsc.edu –

    Review: We buy *all* of our cell culture media, fetal bovine sera, and lipid-depleted sera from PurMa. The quality of their reagents is absolutely top-notch, giving us reliable, repeatable results in our experiments. We highly recommend PurMa!
    Have you purchased: Yes
    Time of submission: 21-Feb-2025 15:46:22
    Ease of placing the order: 5/5

  34. azadi@live.ca –

    Review: we have purchased Lipid Depleted FBS , DMEM F12 …. they were good quality and decent price
    Have you purchased: Yes
    Time of submission: 29-Jan-2025 23:10:30
    Ease of placing the order: 5/5

  35. Ravi-Gor@ouhsc.edu –

    Review: I recently had the pleasure of interacting with Dr. Seif Azadi, and I want to express my gratitude for his expertise and timely assistance. His knowledge and dedication were instrumental in addressing our lab’s needs efficiently.
    Have you purchased: It is my first Purchase
    Time of submission: 25-Jun-2025 12:00:09
    Ease of placing the order: 5/5

  36. xiangpeng-li@ou.edu –

    Review: PurMa helped us with the customized medium. They are professional and friendly. I appreciate their great work.
    Have you purchased: Yes
    Time of submission: 14-Aug-2025 12:59:31
    Ease of placing the order: 5/5

  37. jianhua.song@appliedstemcell.com –

    Review: it is reliable vendor!
    Have you purchased: Yes
    Time of submission: 07-Oct-2025 17:14:12
    Ease of placing the order: 5/5

  38. Zhenghui.Liu@appliedstemcell.com –

    Review: We always buy our agarose from PurMa and have never been disappointed.
    Have you purchased: Yes
    Time of submission: 08-Oct-2025 11:17:53
    Ease of placing the order: 5/5

  39. ravi-gor@ou.edu –

    Review: I recently had the pleasure of interacting with Dr. Seif Azadi from Purma Biologics, and I cannot thank him enough for his expertise and prompt assistance. His deep knowledge and dedication were instrumental in meeting our laboratory’s needs with remarkable efficiency.
    We ordered FBS, DMEM, and Trypsin from Purma Biologics, and I’m thrilled to report that all the products have performed exceptionally well. They consistently deliver reproducible results, significantly enhancing the reliability of our experiments.
    Thank you, Team Purma Biologics, for your good products and support!
    Have you purchased: It is my first Purchase
    Time of submission: 23-Oct-2025 17:30:25
    Ease of placing the order: 5/5

  40. info@takbiotechs.com –

    Review: We are extremely satisfied with the quality and consistency of PURMA Biologics products. Both the FBS and cell culture media have delivered excellent performance in our applications, with reliable batch-to-batch consistency. Highly recommended for research and bioprocessing use.
    Have you purchased: Yes
    Time of submission: 11-Apr-2026 14:49:27
    Ease of placing the order: 5/5

  41. aslan.batur@aytakbiotech.com –

    Review: We’ve had a great experience with PURMA Biologics products. In particular, their FBS has shown excellent consistency and performance, and their DMEM media has worked very well in our cell culture applications. Overall, very reliable quality.
    Have you purchased: Yes
    Time of submission: 11-Apr-2026 14:57:39
    Ease of placing the order: 5/5

  42. maya.hart@takbiomed.com –

    Review: It’s been a pleasure working with PURMA Biologics. Their service is efficient, delivery is fast, and the quality of their products has met our expectations consistently. Very smooth collaboration overall.
    Have you purchased: Yes
    Time of submission: 11-Apr-2026 15:06:47
    Ease of placing the order: 5/5

  43. hajipour@etsu.edu –

    Review: PurMa products are of excellent quality and highly reliable.
    Have you purchased: Yes
    Time of submission: 11-Apr-2026 16:23:59
    Ease of placing the order: 5/5

Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.

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