Essential 8™ Medium is a xeno-free and feeder-free medium specially formulated for the growth and expansion of human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs). Originally developed by Guokai Chen et al. in the laboratory of James Thomson (published as ‘E8’) and validated by Cellular Dynamics International, Essential 8™ Medium has been extensively tested and proved to maintain pluripotency in multiple iPSC lines. In addition, Essential 8™ Medium has been used to scale up production of iPSCs and shown to support iPSC growth for >50 passages without any signs of karyotypic abnormalities, along with maintaining the ability of iPSCs to differentiate into all three germ line lineages.

Features of Essential 8™ Medium include:

- Consistent—reduced variability compared to existing feeder-free culture media

- Robust—reliable and robust cultures with a xeno-free, cGMP, 8-component medium

- Cost effective—economical and scalable PSC culture compared to other feeder-free media
  
  Reduced Variability
  Essential 8™ Medium is xeno-free and contains only the 8 essential components needed for stem cell culture. Unlike other media that contain over 20 highly variable ingredients, Essential 8™ Medium is produced under cGMP and has an optimized formulation and growth factor levels to help ensure maximum cell health, pluripotency, and growth, with minimal variability.
  
  Reliable and Robust Cultures
  Essential 8™ Medium has been show to support pluripotent stem cell growth and provide cultures with superior morphology and growth kinetics compared to other feeder systems.
  
  Cost Effective
  Essential 8™ Medium is provided in a convenient two-component kit (500 ml basal medium & 10 ml supplement), and when used with vitronectin (VTN-N), provides a cost effective, defined system for feeder-free culture of human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs).
  
  Essential 8™ Medium is commercialized in partnership with Cellular Dynamics International.