The influence of a protein-free and a protein-rich, supplemented serum-free medium on the production of plasminogen activator (t-PA) from Bowes melanoma cells was investigated in the Opticell culture system and compared to tissue culture flask cultures. In the presence of medium supplements metabolic activity and t-PA production were favoured in both systems. The addition of supplements was apparently more effective in the Opticell than in flask cultures, because t-PA activity obtained in the Opticell was 2-3 times higher in protein-rich medium, but 2 times lower in unsupplemented medium than in flasks. These results indicate that the protein content in a serum-free medium is important for product formation in the Opticell, and serum-free media which work at small scale in tissue culture flasks are not always suited for technical culture systems such as the Opticell but have to be adapted to them.