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Buffers and laboratory water

Water grades, buffer preparation, pH measurement and the errors that quietly change an enzyme assay.

All topicsBuffers and laboratory water26Cell culture26Chromatography26Cold chain and sample storage26Cytometry and microscopy26DNA sequencing26Gels and blotting26Gene expression26Genome editing26Immunoassays26Laboratory labware26Laboratory safety26Liquid handling26Microbiology26Molecular cloning26Nucleic acid purification26PCR and amplification26Protein biochemistry26Proteomics26Research sourcing and study design26
specificationenquiryglossarytroubleshootingbufferscalibrationglasswareautoclavepcrphvolumetricwaterenzymesreagentsendotoxinassaysdetergentsfume hood

26 articles

Wall-mounted water purification unit dispensing ultrapure water into a glass flask

buffers and water

A glossary of solution terms

Decide which number a recipe means before you weigh a salt: molarity or molality, which percent, normality, buffer capacity, osmolality, or hydrogen-ion activity.

8 October 2026 · 9 min read

Gloved hands aspirating pink culture medium from a cell culture flask inside a laminar flow hood

buffers and water

Acids bases and the fume hood

Dilute a concentrated acid or base for buffer work inside a fume hood, and keep that chemistry out of the laminar-flow hood shown with culture medium.

8 October 2026 · 9 min read

pH electrode in a beaker of buffer while a gloved hand adds drops from a dropper bottle

buffers and water

Autoclaving a buffer can shift pH

Autoclave a buffer only when the composition allows it, then recheck pH at the recipe temperature, because Tris, sugars, and bicarbonate do not come back unchanged.

8 October 2026 · 9 min read

Wall-mounted water purification unit dispensing ultrapure water into a glass flask

buffers and water

Chelators EDTA and magnesium-dependent enzymes

Trace a failed magnesium-dependent enzyme to EDTA carry-over, including textbook TE, and decide whether EGTA or less chelator is the check the method actually allows.

8 October 2026 · 8 min read

pH electrode in a beaker of buffer while a gloved hand adds drops from a dropper bottle

buffers and water

CO2 and why pH drifts in a carboy

When carboy pH falls overnight, follow dissolved carbon dioxide and buffer capacity first, then decide whether the electrode is the failed control.

8 October 2026 · 8 min read

Wall-mounted water purification unit dispensing ultrapure water into a glass flask

buffers and water

Comparing bottled water and a point-of-use system

Choose bottled molecular-biology water or a point-of-use polisher for PCR, chromatography, or cell-culture reagents, and see how each one fails after it leaves the maker.

8 October 2026 · 9 min read

Wall-mounted water purification unit dispensing ultrapure water into a glass flask

buffers and water

Conductivity TOC and what each detects

Conductivity and resistivity report ions. TOC reports oxidisable organic carbon. Choose the test that matches the blank your assay can actually fail.

8 October 2026 · 8 min read

Wall-mounted water purification unit dispensing ultrapure water into a glass flask

buffers and water

Detergent stocks and bubbles

Compare ionic, non-ionic, and zwitterionic detergents by charge, cold precipitation, critical micelle concentration, and the bubbles that ruin absorbance and pipetting.

8 October 2026 · 9 min read

pH electrode in a beaker of buffer while a gloved hand adds drops from a dropper bottle

buffers and water

Documenting a buffer recipe with the salt form

Define every term a buffer record needs: salt form, hydrate, formula weight, pH, temperature, water grade, order of addition, and how the solution was sterilised.

8 October 2026 · 9 min read

pH electrode in a beaker of buffer while a gloved hand adds drops from a dropper bottle

buffers and water

Filter sterilising a buffer

Explain what a 0.22 micrometre filter removes from a buffer, which membrane polymer fits the solution, and why a bubble-point value belongs to one device.

8 October 2026 · 8 min read

pH electrode in a beaker of buffer while a gloved hand adds drops from a dropper bottle

buffers and water

Good's buffers and why the name is not a method

Good's buffers are a design family, not a procedure. Separate HEPES, MES, MOPS, and PIPES from metal binding, light reactions, and the pH you still measure.

8 October 2026 · 8 min read

Wall-mounted water purification unit dispensing ultrapure water into a glass flask

buffers and water

Hard feed water and a purification skid

Treat calcium, magnesium, chlorine, and chloramine as feed-water facts, then match pretreatment to the skid maker before you trust product water.

8 October 2026 · 8 min read