Each media within the TeSR™ family is produced using high-quality raw materials that are rigorously pre-screened to ensure the highest levels of quality and minimal batch-to-batch variability. This ensures experimental reproducibility time after time. Each media is based on published formulations.^1-3 Use our Interactive Product Finder to make an informed decision on the right media for the expansion of hPSCs in culture or downstream applications.

Human ES and iPS cells cultured in other feeder-free media can be conveniently transferred to any TeSR™ media smoothly with minimal differences in morphology, pluripotency, and growth rate. Please see our technical manuals for the protocols.

We recommend warming or thawing TeSR™ media or supplements in the fridge overnight or at room temperature instead of at 37°C. There is a large temperature discrepancy from storage at -20°C to thawing in a 37°C water bath. Components may precipitate with such a large temperature change, and more importantly, this may affect the performance of the components.

If haziness in the 5X supplement is noted, ensure that the supplement is at room temperature. If haziness persists, place the bottle in a 37°C water bath for approximately 5 minutes, swirling occasionally until the supplement becomes clear. The supplement must essentially be clear of particulates before adding to the basal medium. If the haziness persists, please contact Scientific Support.

No, it is not necessary to add antibiotics to the media as aseptic technique should be sufficient to maintain sterile cultures.

We recommend using Vitronectin XF™ with non-tissue culture (TC)-treated cultureware. If used with TC-treated plates, there may be an issue with substrate attachment. TC-treated plates are recommended when coating plates with Corning® Matrigel® (Corning® Catalog #354277) or CellAdhere™ Laminin-521 (Catalog #77003).

For optimal cell survival and attachment, it is important to select an appropriate passaging reagent that is compatible with the matrix that is used. ReLeSR™ and Gentle Cell Dissociation Reagent are compatible with both Vitronectin XF™ and Matrigel®. However, Dispase is not recommended for the passaging cultures maintained on Vitronectin XF™ substrate nor in cell culture in TeSR™-E8™.

At STEMCELL Technologies, our Research Scientists routinely passage hPSCs as aggregates for maintenance. These established methods have been shown to allow the long-term expansion of many different cell lines while maintaining a karyotype expected of donor material. While it is possible to passage human ES and iPS cells as single cells, it has been demonstrated that this practice may place unwanted selective pressure on cell populations that could lead to genetic aberrations in the culture.^4,5 On the other hand, some researchers may prefer single-cell passaging for obtaining higher-density cultures or for compatibility with single-cell applications. For these researchers, we developed eTeSR™, a novel hPSC maintenance medium formulated specifically to maintain cell quality when passaging and maintaining hPSCs as single cells.

To determine what is the best aggregate size (i.e. the one that gives optimal colonies with the least amount of differentiation), we recommend performing the aggregate count method at passage and plate a range of aggregate numbers (starting with 300 aggregates per well and plating some wells with less than 300 and some with more). Determine which aggregate number gives you the optimal colony morphology for the passaging schedule you are working with (e.g. 7 days).

An adaptation step may be required when transitioning hPSCs from 2D aggregate cultures maintained in mTeSR™ Plus, mTeSR™1, TeSR™-AOF, TeSR™-E8™, or other feeder-free maintenance media, to single-cell cultures expanded in eTeSR™. It is recommended to seed hPSCs at higher densities for the first 1 - 2 passages after transitioning to eTeSR™ to compensate for lower expansion rates.

Spontaneous differentiation, characterized by irregular cell morphology either at the edge or within the monolayer, is rarely observed in eTeSR™-maintained hPSC cultures. Spontaneous differentiation may be observed during the initial transition from aggregate to single-cell passaging, but will be lost after subsequent passaging. High levels of spontaneous differentiation in eTeSR™-maintained cultures may indicate poor initial cell quality.

Yes! See this Tech Tip for more information: Aggregate Passaging for ES and iPS Cell Maintenance.

The use of Y-27632 (Catalog #72302), also known as ROCK (Rho-associated, coiled-coil containing protein kinase) inhibitor has been shown to enhance survival of human embryonic stem (ES) cells as single cells by preventing dissociation-induced apoptosis.⁶ Y-27632 can be used when passaging cells as single cells (not aggregates), when thawing cells, and in specific differentiation protocols, such as neural progenitor generation. When passaging hPSCs as aggregates, there is no requirement to add Y-27632 to the medium.⁷ It may also result in a decrease in the quality of cell morphology or have other unintended effects on the culture.⁸

Limited amount (5 - 10%) of spontaneous differentiation is not an issue in culture, as long as the areas of differentiation are removed on the day of passaging. hPSCs are prone to differentiation when grown in vitro. This is a characteristic of hPSCs: they have the ability to differentiate into cells of the three different germ layers. The pluripotency factors in TeSR™ media will help prevent the cells from differentiating, but a low level (< 10%) of spontaneous differentiation in culture is normal and healthy. Many labs use different techniques (e.g. expression markers, colony morphology, karyotyping, functional pluripotency tests, differentiation to three germ layers) to ensure their hPSCs are maintained in an undifferentiated state.