mTeSR™1

cGMP, feeder-free maintenance medium for human ES and iPS cells

Need a high-quality cell source? Choose from our hiPSC healthy control lines, manufactured with mTeSR™ Plus.

mTeSR™1

cGMP, feeder-free maintenance medium for human ES and iPS cells

From: 415 USD
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cGMP, feeder-free maintenance medium for human ES and iPS cells
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What's Included

  • mTeSR™1 Complete Kit (Catalog #85850)
    • mTeSR™1 Basal Medium, 400 mL
    • mTeSR™1 5X Supplement, 100 mL
  • mTeSR™1 Complete Kit, 1 L (Catalog #85857)
    • mTeSR™1 Basal Medium, 800 mL
    • mTeSR™1 5X Supplement, 100 mL, 2 Bottles

What Our Scientist Says

It makes me proud knowing that my work is critical to keeping thousands of hPSC lines reliably healthy and consistent around the world.

Arwen HunterAssociate Director, Stem Cell Biology
Arwen Hunter, Associate Director, Stem Cell Biology

Overview

Use this specialized, feeder-free culture medium to achieve more consistent human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) cultures with homogenous, undifferentiated phenotypes.

Manufactured under relevant cGMPs, mTeSR™1 ensures the highest quality and consistency for reproducible results in your fundamental research, as well as for cell therapy and investigational new drug research applications. This serum-free, complete cell culture medium is made with pre-screened raw materials to ensure batch-to-batch consistency and robust performance in feeder-free hPSC culture.

Use established protocols for applications ranging from derivation to differentiation with this most widely published feeder-free hPSC culture medium, which has been used by leading pluripotent stem cell researchers to successfully maintain thousands of hPSC lines in over 50 countries. For enhanced cell performance and versatile maintenance, you may also be interested in mTeSR™ Plus medium, which is also manufactured under relevant cGMPs and features stabilized components and enhanced buffering.

To request a Letter of Authorization (LOA) for the FDA Master File for mTeSR™1, click here.
Subtype
Specialized Media
Cell Type
Pluripotent Stem Cells
Species
Human
Application
Cell Culture, Expansion, Maintenance
Brand
TeSR
Area of Interest
Stem Cell Biology
Formulation Category
Serum-Free

Data Figures

Figure 1. Normal hES and hiPS Cell Morphology is Observed in cGMP mTeSR™1 Cultures

Undifferentiated (A) H1 human embryonic stem (hES) and (B) WLS-1C human induced pluripotent stem (hiPS) cells cultured on Corning® Matrigel® Matrix in cGMP mTeSR™1 retain the prominent nucleoli and high nuclear-to-cytoplasmic ratio characteristic of this cell type after 10 passages. Densely packed cells and multi-layering are prominent when cells are ready to be passaged.

Figure 2. High Expansion Rates are Observed in cGMP mTeSR™1 Cultures

Graph shows the average fold expansion per passage +/- SEM obtained for hES (H1 and H9) and hiPS (WLS-1C) cells cultured in cGMP mTeSR­™1 (red) or non-cGMP mTeSR™1 (gray) on Corning® Matrigel® Matrix over 10 passages. Expansion was determined by enumerating the cell aggregates obtained at harvest and dividing by the number of cell aggregates seeded. Note that this data is representative of cultures passaged after 6-7 days in culture, lower expansion should be expected if using shorter culture times.

Figure 3. Cells Cultured in cGMP mTeSR™1 Medium Express Undifferentiated Cell Markers

Histogram analysis for hES (H1 and H9) and hiPS (WLS-1C) cells characterized using FACS for undifferentiated cell markers, OCT4 (OCT3) (Catalog #60093) and TRA-1-60 (Catalog #60064), after 8 - 10 passages in cGMP mTeSR™1 (filled = sample, blank = isotype control).

Figure 4. hPSCs Maintained in cGMP mTeSR™1 Display a Normal Karyotype

Karyograms of (A) H1 hES and (B) WLS-1C hiPS cells cultured in cGMP mTeSR™1 for 11 passages shows that a normal karyotype is retained.

Protocols and Documentation

Find supporting information and directions for use in the Product Information Sheet or explore additional protocols below.

Document Type
Product Name
Catalog #
Lot #
Language
Product Name
mTeSR™1
Catalog #
85857, 85850
Lot #
All
Language
English
Document Type
Technical Manual
Product Name
mTeSR™1
Catalog #
85850, 85857
Lot #
All
Language
English
Document Type
Safety Data Sheet 1
Product Name
mTeSR™1
Catalog #
85857, 85850
Lot #
All
Language
English
Document Type
Safety Data Sheet 2
Product Name
mTeSR™1
Catalog #
85857, 85850
Lot #
All
Language
English
Document Type
Safety Data Sheet 3
Product Name
mTeSR™1
Catalog #
85857, 85850
Lot #
All
Language
English
The Certificate of Analysis for this product has been updated for newly released materials. To access respective CoAs please use this tool.

Applications

This product is designed for use in the following research area(s) as part of the highlighted workflow stage(s). Explore these workflows to learn more about the other products we offer to support each research area.

Resources and Publications

Educational Materials (40)

Publications (1901)

Label-free mid-infrared dichroism-sensitive photoacoustic microscopy for histostructural analysis of engineered heart tissues E. Park et al. Light, Science & Applications 2026 Jan

Abstract

Many biological tissues, such as cardiac muscle, tendons, and the cornea, exhibit highly organized microstructural alignment that is critical for mechanical and physiological functions. Disruptions in this structural organization are commonly associated with pathological conditions such as fibrosis, infarction, and cancer. However, conventional histological imaging techniques rely on immunofluorescence or histochemical staining, and they evaluate tissue alignment via non-physical 2D gradient-based calculation, which is labor-intensive, antibody-dependent, and prone to variability. Here, we demonstrate label-free mid-infrared dichroism-sensitive photoacoustic microscopy (MIR-DS-PAM), an analytical imaging system for cardiac tissue assessments. By combining molecular specificity with polarization sensitivity, this method selectively visualizes protein-rich engineered heart tissue (EHT) and quantifies the extracellular matrix (ECM) alignment without any labeling. The extracted dichroism-sensitive parameters, such as the degree of dichroism and the orientation angle, enable histostructural evaluation of tissue integrity and reveal diagnostic cues in fibrotic EHT. This technique offers a label-free analytical tool for fibrosis research and tissue engineering applications. Mid-infrared dichroism-sensitive photoacoustic microscopy enables label-free, quantitative histostructural analysis by combining spectral specificity and polarization sensitivity to visualize protein-rich components and evaluate anisotropic tissue alignment.
NGR1 Pretreatment Enhances the Therapeutic Efficacy of Transplanting Cardiomyocytes Derived from Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells for Myocardial Infarction H. Cai et al. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 2026 Jan

Abstract

Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) offer significant potential for differentiation and research applications in cardiovascular diseases. When induced differentiated hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) are transplanted into the infarcted myocardial region, they exhibit extremely low survival rates and unsatisfactory therapeutic effects due to ischemia, hypoxia, and immune inflammation in the surrounding environment. To address this issue, we used Panax notoginseng saponin R1 (NGR1), which has demonstrated significant protective effects in prior research, to pretreat hiPSC-CMs before transplantation. Utilizing an in vitro H2O2 oxidative stress model and a nude mouse myocardial infarction (MI) model, we investigated the mechanism through which NGR1 pretreatment enhances the therapeutic efficacy of hiPSC-CM transplantation. The results revealed that the hiPSC-CMs expressed cTnT. NGR1 did not promote the proliferation of hiPSC-CMs but instead induced elevated levels of p-Akt protein in these cells. Compared to hiPSC-CM transplantation alone, transplantation of hiPSC-CMs pretreated with NGR1 exhibited higher ejection fraction (EF) and fractional shortening (FS) values, along with reduced infarct size and collagen deposition. Additionally, there were more HNA-positive cardiomyocytes in the cardiac tissue, fewer TUNEL-positive signals, and increased VWF-positive and Lyve1-positive signals. Furthermore, the gene expression levels of VEGFC, IGF-1, and SDF-1 were higher. Therefore, NGR1 pretreatment improves the survival of transplanted hiPSC-CMs in tissues, reduces myocardial apoptosis, enhances cardiac function, decreases infarct size and collagen deposition, promotes angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis, and stimulates paracrine secretion.
Predicting metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease risk using patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells Y. Qin et al. Stem Cells Translational Medicine 2026 Jan

Abstract

Metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is reversible at early stages, making early identification critical. We previously demonstrated that patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) carrying MASLD-associated genetic risk variants exhibit greater oleate-induced intracellular lipid accumulation than those without these variants. This study aimed to develop an iPSC-based MASLD risk predictor using functional lipid accumulation assessments. We quantified oleate-induced lipid accumulation in iPSCs from three cohorts: (1) CIRM (22 cases, 20 controls), (2) POST (18 cases, 16 controls), and (3) UCSF (4 cases, 8 controls). Data from the CIRM cohort was used to define an iPSC-based MASLD risk score, which was subsequently validated in the POST and UCSF cohorts. Lipid accumulation was consistently higher in MASLD iPSCs across cohorts. The risk score achieved 44% sensitivity/75% specificity in POST and 75%/100% in UCSF. These findings suggest that oleate-induced lipid accumulation in iPSCs may be a predictor of MASLD risk. Larger studies incorporating additional cellular phenotypes, clinical, and genetic data could enhance predictive accuracy for MASLD surveillance and prevention.
Need a high-quality cell source? Choose from our hiPSC healthy control lines, manufactured with mTeSR™ Plus.