MediumNCTC-135 is a chemically defined culture medium developed at the National Collection of Type Cultures (NCTC) in London in the late 1950s as an improved version of NCTC-109. It contains an expanded combination of amino acids, vitamins, nucleotides, carbohydrates, and inorganic salts, enabling long-term maintenance and serial propagation of mammalian cell lines, particularly L929(mouse fibroblast) cells. Although largely replaced by modern media such as MEM, DMEM, and RPMI-1640, NCTC-135 remains valuable for cytogenetics, virology, and specialized research requiring defined culture conditions.
Applications
• Routine maintenance and propagation of mammalian cell lines
• Cytogenetic studies requiring reproducible conditions
• Viral culture and propagation in chemically defined medium
• In vitro assays requiring low variability and consistency
• Studies in metabolism, growth kinetics, and media optimization
