Which Cell Culture Media Is Right For Your T-Cells?

CAR-T cells are commonly grown and expanded in RPMI (Roswell Park Memorial Institute) 1640 basal media supplemented with up to 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS). For clinical applications, there is a desire to use cell media platforms that allow for higher expansion rates, have more lot-to-lot consistency between batches, and exclude FBS and other animal-derived components due to concerns over contamination. Chemically-defined media provides improved batch-to-batch results and removes some regulatory concerns since it excludes serum products. However, serum-free media may yield lower CAR-T efficacies, so understanding how to optimize the media to improve the therapy is a necessary step.

Here we demonstrate how with quick insight from the Rebel, researchers can make informed decisions about which media platform is best for growing CAR T-cells.