VLE DMEM

Very Low Endotoxin (VLE) DMEM is a standardized cell culture medium with a greatly reduced endotoxin content. The low endotoxin content reduces batch variations of the medium and increases the reproducibility of the experiments. DMEM is a modified Eagle medium and is characterized by its fourfold content of vitamins and amino acids. Its high nutrient content makes it very suitable for cultivating a wide range of adherent cell types such as mammalian cells, insect cells and plant cells.

Endotoxins belong structurally to the lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and are components of the outer cell membrane of gram-negative bacteria or cyanobacteria. They are released by living bacteria through the cleavage of vesicles or upon death through the disintegration of the outer cell wall and trigger strong cellular and immunological reactions. Bacteria are inactivated by various sterilization processes, but endotoxins are very heat-stable and usually even survive sterilization. In cell culture, endotoxins lead to undesired immunological cellular reactions, a negative influence on transfection and they reduce both the transfection efficiency and the reproducibility of the experiments.