Your frequently asked Cell Culture Media questions

Plasmax

What is Plasmax^TM? 

Plasmax^TM is a cell culture medium that closely mimics the metabolic and physiological profile of human plasma. It is a chemically defined and ready-to-use medium, painstakingly developed to give the best possible representation of in vivo conditions.

Why was Plasmax^TM developed?

Dr. Tardito, an oncometabolism researcher at the Cancer Research UK Beatson Institute, observed that growth focussed media can have a range of effects on cellular metabolism that is cell-type and condition specific (e.g. normoxia/ hypoxia). This effects the experimental results obtained. Dr. Tardito sought to develop a human plasma like cell culture medium that represents the in vivo  cellular environment by providing a physiological complement of nutrients provided by human plasma - Plasmax^TM.   Find out more about Plasmax^TM

How does Plasmax^TM differ from DMEM/ F12/ RPMI?

Growth focussed media lack a number of key components that are present in human plasma like media such as Plasmax^TM . Plasmax^TM contains over 80 components, of which 50 have been optimised to the levels found within human plasma, providing a more comprehensive and physiologically relevant nutritional profile.   

Can Plasmax^TM be used like a growth focussed media (e.g. DMEM)? 

Yes, Plasmax^TM is ready-to-use and is designed to be used as a direct replacement for conventional media. Cell viability has been tested in various cell types with 2.5% Foetal Bovine Serum.

How does Plasmax^TM affect the metabolic profile of your cultured cells? 

Unlike growth-focussed media, Plasmax^TM is designed to mimic the nutrient profile of human plasma, better reflecting the cancer microenvironment and providing more physiologically accurate experimental results. Growing cells in Plasmax^TM results in a metabolite profile that is statistically similar to in vivo tumours.

What is the role of trace elements in Plasmax^TM?

Plasmax^TM is the only ready-to-use cell culture medium containing growth enhancing components at physiological levels as well as essential trace elements. These trace elements are essential as they:

• increase the antioxidant capacity of cells, preventing ferroptosis-induced cell death.
• sustain cell growth even in serum free conditions.
• encourage faster cell culture proliferation in comparison with DMEM when both are supplemented with 2.5% foetal bovine serum.
  
  

Which cells can Plasmax^TM be used to culture?

Plasmax^TM has been used to successfully culture a number of cell lines including: 

Since its composition reflects that of human plasma, it should be suitable for many other cell types.  

If you have specific cells you wish to use Plasmax^TM on, or would like further details on the cell lines mentioned above, we are happy to answer your question in more detail. Please contact us.

Can Plasmax^TM be supplemented with antibiotics?

Plasmax^TM can be supplemented with antibiotics. The inventors have supplemented Plasmax with penicillin-streptomycin to grow primary cells without issues. They do not have direct experience with Primocin (proprietary components) but do not anticipate any problem by supplementing it to Plasmax.

Can I use Plasmax^TM alone or is it good to add FBS?

Plasmax^TM does not contain any proteins, growth factors or lipid therefore FBS should be added at the concentration you consider most appropriate. The range is from 0% (+ growth factors and albumax) to 10% depending on the cell type and experiment. The use of dyalized FBS reduces the contribution of metabolites at unknown concentrations, minimizing the divergence from the original Plasmax formulation. We would recommend dialyzed FBS for the experiments where the concentration of specific nutrients is critical.