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Gibco™ Essential 6™ Medium

Catalog No. A1516401
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A1516401 500 mL
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Catalog No. A1516401 Supplier Gibco™ Supplier No. A1516401

Description

Essential 6 Medium is a feeder-free and xeno-free medium that supports the reprogramming of somatic cells and the spontaneous or directed differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs).

Essential 6 Medium is a feeder-free and xeno-free medium that supports the reprogramming of somatic cells and the spontaneous or directed differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs). With only six essential components, Essential 6 Medium helps minimize variability and can be used as a base for custom media for the culture of PSCs. The formulation is based on a medium originally developed by Guokai Chen et. al. (1) in the laboratory of James Thomson and published as 'E6'. To complete your workflow with a matching reduced-variability PSC culture medium developed by the same lab, use Essential 8 Medium.

Essential 6 Medium enables:

  • Differentiation—does not contain bFGF, which inhibits differentiation
  • Reprogramming—does not contain TGFβ, which has a negative effect on reprogramming efficiency
  • Flexibility—provides a flexible format where the levels of TGFβ and bFGF can be adjusted and additional components can be added to match a given application

Differentiation

Unlike other media used in PSC culture, Essential 6 Medium does not contain bFGF or TGFβ. As such, Essential 6 Medium can support the formation of embryoid bodies. It has also been used as a base for the directed differentiation of various cell types in the endodermal, mesodermal, and ectodermal lineages (2), including motor neurons (3).

Reprogramming

Essential 6 Medium allows for defined and feeder-free reprogramming when used with bFGF. The formulation supports somatic cell reprogramming using a variety of methods, including episomal vectors (4) and CytoTune (Sendai virus), and is optimized to help ensure maximum cell health and pluripotency with minimal variability.

Flexibility

Essential 6 Medium is xeno-free and contains only the essential components needed for stem cell culture, minus bFGF and TGFβ. This provides a basal medium that will maximize cell health and pluripotency while allowing levels of TGFβ and bFGF to be adjusted and additional components to be added to match a given application.

Commercialized in partnership with Cellular Dynamics International.

References

  1. Chen G, Gulbranson DR, Hou Z, Bolin JM, Ruotti V, Probasco MD, Smuga-Otto K, Howden SE, Diol NR, Propson NE, Wagner R, Lee GO, Antosiewicz-Bourget J, Teng JM, Thomson JA. Chemically defined conditions for human iPSC derivation and culture. Nat Methods. 2011 8(5):424-9.
  2. Lippmann ES, Estevez-Silva MC, Ashton RS. Defined human pluripotent stem cell culture enables highly efficient neuroepithelium derivation without small molecule inhibitors. Stem Cells. 2014 32(4):1032-42.
  3. Lippmann ES, Williams CE, Ruhl DA, Estevez-Silva MC, Chapman ER, Coon JJ, Ashton RS. Deterministic HOX patterning in human pluripotent stem cell-derived neuroectoderm. Stem Cell Reports. 2015 4(4):632-44.
  4. Yu J, Hu K, Smuga-Otto K, Tian S, Stewart R, Slukvin II, Thomson JA. Human induced pluripotent stem cells free of vector and transgene sequences. Science. 2009 324(5928):797-801.

Specifications

Cell Line Embryonic Stem Cells (ESCs), Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs)
Cell Type Embryonic Stem Cells (ESCs), Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs)
Classification Xeno-free
Form Liquid
Product Type Stem Cell Media
Serum Level Serum-free
Sterility Sterile-filtered
Sterilization Method Sterile-filtered
With Additives Phenol Red
Manufacturing Quality cGMP for medical devices, 21 CFR Part 820 and ISO 13485
Product Line Essential 6
Quantity 500 mL
Shipping Condition Ambient
Species Human
Content And Storage Store at 2 to 8°C and protect from light.
Culture Type Adherent Cell Culture, Feeder-free Stem Cell Culture (Human, iPS - Induced Pluripotent Stem, Embryonic), Stem Cell (Human, iPS - Induced Pluripotent Stem, Embryonic)
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Can I store Gibco Essential 6 Medium (Cat. No. A1516401) at -20 degrees C?

We do not recommend freezing our liquid media products. Freezing can cause some components like amino acids and inorganic salts to precipitate upon thawing.
Is it possible to reprogram somatic cells using Essential 7 or Essential 8 medium and transition them into StemFlex Medium upon harvest?

Yes. If improved reprogramming efficiency is required, then you may utilize Essential 7 (Essential 6 + bFGF) or Essential 8 Medium for reprogramming somatic cells and directly transition them into StemFlex Medium system upon colony selection.
When should I use the full length Human FGF-basic (FGF-2/bFGF) Recombinant Protein or the truncated variant, Human FGF-basic (FGF-2/bFGF) (aa 10-155) Recombinant Protein?

The full length Human FGF-basic (FGF-2/bFGF) (aa 1-155) Recombinant Protein is recommended for stem cells whereas the truncated variant, Human FGF-basic (FGF-2/bFGF) (aa 10-155) Recombinant Protein which is missing the first 9 amino acids, is recommended for use with neural and cardiac cells.
What are induced pluripotent stem cells?

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS or iPSCs) are pluripotent stem cells directly generated by introducing combination of genes coding for “reprogramming factors” into adult cells. These reprogramming factors include Oct4, Sox2, c-Myc, KLF4, NANOG, and LIN28. Yu, et al, generated iPS from a human mesenchymal cell line using lentiviral vectors carrying Oct4, Sox2, NANOG, and LIN28 genes (Science 318:1917 (2007)). Using a similar approach, Takahashi et al, generated iPS from human primary fibroblast cells by introducing genes coding for Oct3, Sox2, KLF4, and c-Myc into these cells (Cell 131:861 (2007)). iPS generated by reprogramming are similar to human ES cells in morphology, the capacity for unlimited proliferation, surface-antigen expression, gene expression, the ability to differentiate into cell types representing the three germ layers in vitro, and the ability to form teratomas after injection into SCID mice.

For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.