Minimum Essential Medium is a modification of Basal Medium Eagle (BME). It was developed by Harry Eagle to meet the specific nutritional requirements of certain subtypes of Hela cells and normal mammalian fibroblasts. MEM includes higher concentration of amino acids so as to closely approximate the protein composition of cultured mammalian cells. MEM can be used either with Earle’s salts and Hank’s salts and can also be additionally supplemented with non-essential amino acids (NEAA). The modification can be further modified by eliminating calcium to facilitate growth of cells in suspension cultures.
AT046 is Minimum Essential Medium Eagle with Earle's balanced salts, L-glutamine and non-essential amino acids. It does not contain phenol red. Users are advised to review the literature for recommendations regarding medium supplementation and physiological growth requirements specific for different cell lines.