Can cell culture media be frozen at -20°C - (May/31/2007 )

Normally media arrived at 4°C. Is it possible to freeze it in at -20°C without loosing quality? Do cells grow also with media frozen before?

Thank you for your reply!

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I don't know exactly, but I think that this procedure will not very good but not so critical and of course depends on sensitivity of your cultured cells . I think something will happen with aminoacids and vitamins which occur in media , also it is possible that salt ballance will change during frozen\thawing procedure because of possible coprecipitation ( it will be minor component but critical for cell growing

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I would keep the media at 4C even if I have to keep them at 4C for 2-3 months before I use them. Just have them protectected from light.

I havnt frozen and thawed my media.

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If the manufacturers like Invitrogen/Sigma thought that freezing media was a good idea then the media would come frozen. Foetal Calf Serum ALWAYS comes frozen as it has been proven to aid its ability to support cell growth. Once you thaw it it is always best to aliquot it and re-freeze. Freeze thawing too many times again reduces its affectiveness at supporting cell growth.

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normally, it is not necessary to freeze medium but to store at 4°C;

I know people who freeze them to keep the medium beyond the expire data; if there are precipiates after thawing, incubate at 37°C

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