At the 1989 annual meeting of the U.S. Tissue Culture Associations, Ricahrd am, a leading investigator in the serum-free nutrient requirements of cultured cells, commented on the process of medium development. He noted that a survey of major media manufacturers revealed that, among the top selling mammalian cell culture media formulations, most were nearly thirty years old. This commentary is noteworthy considering the tremendous changes in cell culture understanding and derived applications which have emerged over these three decades. Fastidious cell types relatively unknown to investigators of the 1950s and 1960s are now being cultivated in defined, serum-free environments. Culture environments range from limiting dilution clonal recoveries to maintenance cultures approaching tissue densities. While research applications continue to predominate, applications of cell culture have expanded to the engineered production of biopharmaceuticals, to replacement of animal models for toxicology testing, and to the preservation, activation and expansion of human cells, tissues and organs. It is likely that future nutrient medium development will be predicated upon the design of a minimal number of defined formulations of relatively generic utility to a broad class of cell types. Analytical techniques derived from those described herein will be exploited in the user laboratory and in collaboration with the supplier to optimize the nutrient composition for the desired biological response.