RPMI-1640 medium was developed by Moore et al., at Roswell Park Memorial Institute, hence the acronym RPMI. The formulation is based on the RPMI-1630 series of media utilizing a bicarbonate buffering system and alterations in the amounts of amino acids and vitamins. RPMI-1640 medium has been used for the culture of human normal and neoplastic leukocytes. RPMI-1640 when properly supplemented, has demonstrated wide applicability for supporting growth of many types of cell cultures, including fresh human lymphocytes in the 72-hour phytohemagglutinin (PHA) stimulation assay.

There are a variety of formulations:
12-702         - with L-glutamine
BE12-702/U1 - with UltraGlutamineI
BE15-702D    - [powder] with L-glutamine
12-167          - without L-glutamine
12-115          - with L-glutamine and 25 mM HEPES buffer
BE12-115/U1 - with UltraGlutamineI and 25 mM HEPES buffer
04-525          - with L-glutamine and 165 nM MOPS (used for some mycological assays)
09-774          - with L-glutamine, 25 mM HEPES buffer 100 units/ml penicillin, 50 ug/ml streptomycin
12-918          - without L-glutamine or phenol red
BE12-752       - with L-glutamine, without D-glucose

Storage = 2ºC to 8ºC 
  (versions without L-glutamine and those with UltraGlutamine can be stored at 15ºC to 30ºC)

Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) was developed in 1969 and is a modification of Basal Medium Eagle (BME) that differs from BME and MEM by the following characteristics:

• Vitamins 4X greater than MEM. Vitamins and amino acids greater than BME
• Types and quantities of amino acids greater than MEM and BME
• Iron (ferric nitrate)

It is used in a wide range of mammalian cell culture applications.  The high glucose version is well suited to high density suspension culture. The low glucose formula is used for adherent dependent cells.

Storage = 2ºC to 8ºC

Liquid:
12-614 = 4.5 g/L glucose, without L-glutamine
12-604 = 4.5 g/L glucose, with L-glutamine
BE12-604/U1 = 4.5 g/L glucose, with Ultraglutamine I
12-914 = 4.5 g/L glucose, without L-glutamine (hybridoma screened)
12-917 = 4.5 g/L glucose, without L-glutamine or phenol red
12-709 = 4.5 g/L glucose and 25 mM HEPES, without L-glutamine
12-733= 4.5 g/L glucose, without L-glutamine or sodium pyruvate
12-741 = 4.5 g/L glucose, with L-glutamine, without sodium pyruvate

12-707 = 1.0 g/L glucose, without L-glutamine
12-708 = 1.0 g/L glucose and 25 mM HEPES, without L-glutamine

Powder:
15-614 = 4.5 g/L glucose, without L-glutamine or sodium pyruvate
15-604 = 4.5 g/L glucose, with L-glutamine or sodium pyruvate