Defined media for serum-free tissue culture

A culture medium which comprises:

• a base medium containing the amino acids, non-ferrous metal ions, vitamins, and cofactors essentially as set forth in Table I;
• an osmolality of the medium within the range of about 200-350 mOsm;
• at least one buffer selected from CaCl.sub.2.2H.sub.2 O, MgSO.sub.4.7H.sub.2 O, NaH.sub.2 PO.sub.4.2H.sub.2 O, sodium pyruvate, HEPES, and MOPS in an amount sufficient to maintain the medium within the pH range of 6.5-7.5;
• about 1000-10,000 mg of mannose, fructose, glucose, or maltose;;
• about 5 ml of 200 mM L-glutamine;
• about 50 mg each of L-proline, L-threonine, L-methionine, L-cysteine, and L-tyrosine;
• about 20-50 mg of L-ascorbic acid;
• about 0.01-0.5 mg each of Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B12;
• about 0.25-5 mg of a fereric or ferrous salt;
• about 1 mg of zinc sulfate;
• about 2.5 .mu.g of copper sulfate;
• about 10,000-100,000 IU of at least one antibiotic selected from the group consisting of polymyxin, neomycin, penicillin, and streptomycin;
• about 3 .mu.l of ethanolamine;
• about 0.01-1.0 mg of putrescine;
• about 5 .mu.g-5 mg of recombinant insulin;
• and sufficient water to comprise one liter of medium;
• provided that said medium is essentially free of proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids isolated from animal sources.