Shipping Stem Cell Media at Room Temperature: Stability Testing
At BMEM Bio, we've taken a different approach to shipping our media. Thanks to advancements in both our basal media and supplement formulations, we ship BMEM basal media (BMEM Pluripotent and BMEM Max) and its supplement at room temperature — no need for cooling packs, insulation, or temperature-regulation devices.
But a claim like that needs to be tested under realistic, even worst-case, conditions before we trust it. So we did.
Simulating the Worst Day of Shipping
We packed a bottle of BMEM and supplement exactly as a customer would receive it, and placed it in an environment to mimic shipping for four days with air temperatures ranging from 72°F to 90°F (22°C to 38°C), and box temperature peaking above 110°F (43°C). As tough a shipping scenario as we'd expect a real package to encounter.
Putting It to the Test
Once the four days were up, we compared this "after shipment" kit head-to-head against a "control" kit that had been stored under standard lab conditions (media at 4°C, supplement at -20°C) the entire time. Five hiPSC lines were passaged into each condition. Cells were fed daily, passaged twice over 10.5 days, and growth was assessed using a resazurin viability assay.
The question was simple: would cells grown in this extreme temperature-shipped media perform any differently than cells grown in media that never left the fridge?
Why This Matters
If room-temperature shipping holds up under heat-wave conditions and multi-day transit, it removes a real barrier for labs everywhere: faster access to media, lower shipping costs, less packaging waste, and one less cold chain to worry about.
The result?
Cells cultured in the shipped media grew just as well as matched controls — 98.82% vs. 100% growth rate:
That's the kind of margin that gives us (and you) confidence that when our products reach your hands, they're ready to perform.
Read the full application note below for the complete methods, figure captions, and data: