Our serum-free media for CHO cells are designed to support robust cell growth, high viability, and reliable protein expression without animal-derived serum. These chemically defined, serum-free formulations help reduce variability, simplify downstream processing, and support scalable cell culture workflows.
How to Choose a CHO Serum-Free Medium
Choose the medium according to your cell line and culture process:
- Stable batch or fed-batch expression: Begin with one of the matched basal/feed systems:
- CE01 + CA01α + CA01β for CHO-K1, CHO-DG44, and CHO-S.
- CE02 + CA02α + CA01β for CHO-K1, CHO-S, and CHOZN.
- CE03 + CA03α + CA01β for CHO-K1, CHO-DG44, and CHO-S.
- These chemically defined, serum-free, protein-free, and animal-origin-free systems support high-density growth, viability, and recombinant protein production. CA01β is used as a supplemental feed alongside the selected main feed. Because performance depends on the cell line and target protein, ExCellBio recommends screening the 3 × 3 basal/main-feed combinations before scale-up.
- Transient expression: Use TransExp CE06 with CA06 or CA07. This system is designed for high-density transient transfection of suspension CHO-K1 and CHO-S cells, especially ExpiCHO-S, and does not require additional glutamine. CA06 and CA07 can be compared at small scale to identify the best yield for the selected cell line and protein.
- Perfusion or intensified culture: Choose CP01 for N-1 perfusion, steady-state perfusion, and other intensified CHO processes. CP01 supports high-density culture of CHO-K1, CHOZN, and CHO-S cells and offers a simplified preparation process without pH adjustment.
- Format: Choose liquid medium for convenience, rapid process development, and small-scale work. Select powder for scale-up, shipping efficiency, and longer storage. ExCellBio generally lists a 12-month shelf life for liquid products and 24 months for powder when stored as directed.
When multiple formulations are suitable, perform a small-scale comparison based on cell growth, viability, protein yield, and product quality before scale-up.
| Catalog Number | Description | Datasheet | MSDS |
| CA000-C012 | OptiVitro® CHO Serum-free Feed Medium CA01α | Download | Download |
| CA000-C022 | OptiVitro® CHO Serum-free Feed Medium CA01β | Download | Download |
| CA000-N011 | OptiVitro® CHO Serum-free Feed Medium CA01α (Powder) | Download | Download |
| CA000-N021 | OptiVitro® CHO Serum-free Feed Medium CA01β (Powder) | Download | Download |
| CA000-N032 | OptiVitro® CHO Serum-free Feed Medium TransExp CA06 | Download | Download |
| CA000-N034 | OptiVitro® CHO Serum-free Feed Medium TransExp CA06 (Powder) | Download | Download |
| CA000-N042 | OptiVitro® CHO Serum-free Feed Medium CA02α | Download | Download |
| CA000-N043 | OptiVitro® CHO Serum-free Feed Medium CA02α (Powder) | Download | Download |
| CA000-N052 | OptiVitro® CHO Serum-free Feed Medium CA03α | Download | Download |
| CA000-N053 | OptiVitro® CHO Serum-free Feed Medium CA03α (Powder) | Download | Download |
| CA000-N073 | OptiVitro® CHO Serum-free Feed Medium TransExp CA07 | Download | Download |
| CA000-N075 | OptiVitro® CHO Serum-free Feed Medium TransExp CA07 (Powder) | Download | Download |
| CE000-N032 | OptiVitro® CHO Serum-free Basal Medium CE01 | Download | Download |
| CE000-N033 | OptiVitro® CHO Serum-free Basal Medium CE01 (Powder) | Download | Download |
| CE000-N042 | OptiVitro® CHO Serum-free Basal Medium CE02 | Download | Download |
| CE000-N043 | OptiVitro® CHO Serum-free Basal Medium CE02 (Powder) | Download | Download |
| CE000-N052 | OptiVitro® CHO Serum-free Basal Medium TransExp CE06 | Download | Download |
| CE000-N053 | OptiVitro® CHO Serum-free Basal Medium TransExp CE06 (Powder) | Download | Download |
| CE000-N062 | OptiVitro® CHO Serum-free Basal Medium CE03 | Download | Download |
| CE000-N063 | OptiVitro® CHO Serum-free Basal Medium CE03 (Powder) | Download | Download |
| CE000-N071 | OptiVitro® CHO Serum-free Perfusion Medium CP01 | Download | Download |
| CE000-N072 | OptiVitro® CHO Serum-free Perfusion Medium CP01 (Powder) | Download | Download |