Janetzki, S., Price, L., Britten, C. M., van der Burg, S. H., Caterini, J., Currier, J. R., ... & Lennerz, V. (2010). Performance of serum-supplemented and serum-free media in IFNγ Elispot Assays for human T cells. Cancer immunology, immunotherapy, 59(4), 609-618.
doi: 10.1007/s00262-009-0788-2

The objective of this project was to investigate whether a serum-free medium exists that performs as well as lab-own serum/media combinations with regard to antigen-specific responses and background reactivity in Elispot.  Eleven laboratories tested peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from four donors for their reactivity against two peptide pools, following their own Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). Each laboratory performed five simultaneous experiments with the same SOP, the only difference between the experiments was the medium used. The five media were lab-own serum-supplemented medium, AIM-V, CTL, Optmizer, and X-Vivo. The serum task force results demonstrate compellingly that serum-free media perform as well as qualified medium/serum combinations, independent of the applied SOP. Recovery and viability of cells are largely unaffected by serum-free conditions even after overnight resting. Furthermore, one serum-free medium was identified that appears to enhance antigen-specific IFNgamma-secretion. The excellent performance results of all serum-free media in comparison with qualiWed medium/serum combinations. 

AIM-V, CTL, Optmizer, and X-Vivo are commercially available products. Their precise formulation is proprietary.