Media Preparation Calculator

Complete cell culture media is built by adding a set of supplements to a base formulation (like DMEM or RPMI) at specified percentages, and this calculator does that arithmetic across an entire batch. It first multiplies your per-flask volume by the number of flasks to get total volume needed, then works out each supplement's volume as its percentage of that total: FBS (commonly 10%, the largest supplement by volume), antibiotic/antimycotic (typically 1%), L-glutamine (typically 1%, targeting a 2 mM final concentration), and any additional supplement like non-essential amino acids or sodium pyruvate. Base media volume is whatever's left after subtracting all the supplement volumes from the total — the calculator caps combined supplements at 99% of total volume as a safety clamp so base media volume never goes negative if someone enters unrealistic percentages.

A rough cost estimate is included using typical reagent price assumptions (roughly $0.50/mL for FBS versus $0.02/mL for base media, since serum is by far the most expensive line item in most formulations), useful for budgeting but not a quote. This is a straight percentage-of-total-volume calculation rather than a true C1V1 = C2V2 dilution from concentrated stocks of arbitrary strength — it assumes each additive is being added from a stock already at the standard working concentration (e.g., 100% FBS, 100x Pen/Strep counted as contributing its listed % v/v). If your stocks are non-standard concentrations, adjust the percentages accordingly before relying on the output as a pipetting worksheet.