Earle’s Balanced Salts (Powder)

Ringer, Locks and Tyrode substituted physiological salt solutions augmented with glucose for serum and thereby laid the foundation for the development of defined media. As biochemical and analytical techniques have improved, more of the components in serum such as vitamins, hormones, and amino acids have been identified and incorporated into physiological salt solutions, reducing, and in some cases eliminating the concentrations of animal sera required as a medium supplement. Although there have been many modifications to the original formulas in efforts to produce fully defined media, salt solutions still play an important role in tissue culture. A salt solution's basic function, to maintain the pH and osmotic balance in the medium and to provide the cells with water and essential inorganic ions, is as valuable today as when it was first developed a century ago. Earle’s Balanced Salts is one of the balanced salts available from USBio. The selection of a balanced salt is strongly influenced by 1. type of cell, 2. type of culture monolayer, suspension, clonal, and 3. degree of chemical definition necessary. It is important to review the literature for recommendations concerning medium, supplementation and physiological parameters required for a specific cell line.


Directions per Liter:

Dissolve 8.8g in 800-900ml of ddH2O, stirring gently until completely solubilized. If required, add 2.2g sodium bicarbonate with stirring. Adjust pH of the medium to 0.1-0.3 pH unit below the desired level. Add additional water to bring the solution to 1L. Flter-sterilize using a 0.22 micron membrane filter.


Component g/liter
Calcium Chloride•2H2O 0.265
D-Glucose 1
Magnesium Sulfate•7H2O 0.2
Phenol Red, Sodium 0.01
Potassium Chloride 0.4
Sodium Chloride 6.8
Sodium Phosphate Monobasic 0.14
Total: 8.8g/Liter


Storage and Stability:

Store powdered media at RT. Opened bottles should be capped tightly and kept in a dark, low humidity environment. Prepared media should be kept refrigerated and used within a short period of time.