The key difference between alpha MEM and DMEM is that alpha MEM is a mammalian cell culture medium that has less glucose, amino acids, and vitamins, while DMEM is a mammalian cell culture medium that has more glucose, amino acids, and vitamins.
Mammalian cell culture is the process or procedure of growing animal cells in vitro (laboratory) in a flask or a dish. The cell culture media normally comprise an appropriate source of energy and compounds, which help the growth of animal cells and regulate the cell cycle. Alpha-MEM or alpha-modified Eagle’s minimum essential medium and DMEM or Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium are two basic media used in mammalian cell culture.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Alpha MEM
3. What is DMEM
4. Similarities – Alpha MEM and DMEM
5. Alpha MEM vs. DMEM in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Alpha MEM vs. DMEM
What is Alpha MEM?
Alpha-MEM (alpha-modified Eagle’s minimum essential medium) is a major medium used in mammalian cell culture. MEM, or minimal essential medium, is a synthetic cell culture medium in mammalian cell culture developed by Harry Eagle and first described in 1959. MEM can be used to maintain cells in mammalian tissue culture. It mainly contains 6 salts, glucose, and is based on an earlier described medium called Earle’s salts in 1934. The components of this medium include calcium chloride, potassium chloride, magnesium sulfate, sodium chloride, sodium phosphate, and sodium bicarbonate, supplemented 13 different essential amino acids, 8 types of vitamins including thiamine (vitaminB1), riboflavin (vitaminB2), nicotinamide (vitaminB3), pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), pyridoxine (vitamin B6), folic acid (vitamin B9), choline, and myoinositol (vitamin B8).
Figure 01: Alpha MEM
There are many variations of this medium that have been developed over the years. This was mainly done by adding additional vitamins, amino acids, or other nutrients to MEM. Alpha-MEM is a modified medium based on MEM described first in 1971 by Clifford P. Stanners and his colleagues. This medium contains more non-essential amino acids, sodium pyruvate, and vitamins (ascorbic acid or vitamin C, biotin, and cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12)) compared to the MEM medium. Sometimes, alpha-MEM medium also has lipoic acid and nucleosides.
What is DMEM?
DMEM (Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium) is a basic medium used in the mammalian cell culture. It is also a modified version of MEM media, first described in 1959. It is made by adding a four-fold concentration of amino acids and vitamins to the MEM medium. DMEM was first described by Renato Dulbecco in 1959. Primary fibroblasts, neurons, glial cells, HUVECs, smooth muscle cells, and cell lines such as HeLa, 293, Cos-7, and PC-12 are animal cells that can be successfully grown in DMEM.
Figure 02: DMEM
Moreover, components of DMEM medium include glycine, L-arginine hydrochloride, L-cystine 2HCl, L-glutamine, L-histidine, L-isoleucine, L-leucine, L-lysine hydrochloride, L-methionine, L-phenylalanine, L-serine, L-threonine, L-tryptophan, L-tyrosine disodium salt dehydrate, L-valine, choline chloride, D-calcium pantothenate, folic acid, niacinamide pyridoxal hydrochloride, riboflavin, thiamine hydrochloride, i-inositol, calcium chloride, ferric nitrate, magnesium sulfate, potassium chloride, sodium bicarbonate, sodium chloride, sodium phosphate monobasic, D-glucose, phenol red, and sodium pyruvate.
What are the Similarities Between Alpha MEM and DMEM?
- Alpha-MEM and DMEM are the two basic media used in mammalian cell culture.
- Alpha-MEM and DMEM are the most popular and widely used media in mammalian cell culture.
- Both these media are modified media, and they are prepared from the original medium known as MEM, first described in 1959.
- Both these media contain higher concentrations of glucose, amino acids, and vitamins than the original MEM medium.
What is the Difference Between Alpha MEM and DMEM?
Alpha MEM is a mammalian cell culture medium that has less glucose, amino acids, and vitamins, while DMEM is a mammalian cell culture medium that has more glucose, amino acids, and vitamins. Thus, this is the key difference between alpha-MEM and DMEM.
The infographic below presents the differences between alpha-MEM and DMEM in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.
Summary – Alpha MEM vs. DMEM
Mammalian cell culture is an important aspect of research, clinical trials, and the pharmaceutical industry. Mammalian cell culture grows animal cells in in vitro laboratory using specialized media that suit the complex biology of eukaryotic cells. These media basically contain amino acids, vitamins, inorganic salts, glucose, and serum as a source of growth factors, hormones, and attachment factors together with correct pH and osmolality. Alpha-MEM and DMEM are the two basic media used in the mammalian cell culture. Alpha MEM has less glucose, amino acids, and vitamins, while DMEM has more glucose, amino acids, and vitamins. This is the key difference between Alpha-MEM and DMEM.
Reference:
1. “GIBCOTM Mem α, Nucleosides, No Ascorbic Acid – Cell Culture Media Mamallian Cell Culture Media.” 500mL Cell Culture Media | Fisher Scientific. Accessed 11 July 2023.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Cell culture media-set” By Lilly_M – Own work(dzięki współpracy ze szkołą fotograficzną – Fotoedukacja /in cooperation with the school of photography – Fotoedukacja) (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Lifetech-DMEM” By Phaeton68 – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
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