When should I use phenol red-free basal media for cell culture?

It has been shown that phenol red has estrogenic properties. Phenol red-free media are therefore generally used in studies evaluating steroid hormone action in cultured, estrogen-responsive cells (Berthois et al., 1986). Furthermore, phenol red can also interfere with some analytical methods like photometric analyses.

Further Information

Berthois et al.; Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1986 Apr;83(8):2496-500