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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
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26 articles

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

buffers and water

Ionic strength is not the same as pH

During a hybridisation wash, compute ionic strength from the ions you added. A matched pH can still hide a salt change that moves stringency.

8 October 2026 · 7 min read

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

buffers and water

Label expiry is not a stability study

Decide when a printed expiry can be questioned with a passing control, and when sterility, nuclease control, or a calibration standard makes extension the wrong

8 October 2026 · 9 min read

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

Pillar · buffers and water

Laboratory water types and where they fail

Resistivity, organic carbon and endotoxin answer different questions. A water grade fails when the assay cares about a contaminant the meter cannot see.

8 October 2026 · 11 min read

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

buffers and water

Microbial growth in a water polisher

Define biofilm, colony-forming units, endotoxin, endotoxin units, a point-of-use filter, and a dead leg so a clean resistivity reading is not mistaken for clean

8 October 2026 · 9 min read

Gloved hand weighing white powder with a spatula inside an analytical balance draft shield

buffers and water

pH electrodes storage and calibration

Store the glass electrode in its storage solution, calibrate with fresh buffers that bracket the target, and treat a tired slope as a failed control.

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

Phosphate buffers and metal ions

Choose phosphate or PBS only after you name the divalent metals in the mixture. Phosphate precipitates with calcium and is a saline, not every enzyme buffer.

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

Preparing a buffer and checking pH

Prepare a buffer at a stated pH and temperature, record the salt form, and treat a drifting electrode or a bad slope as a failed control.

8 October 2026 · 11 min read

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

buffers and water

Questions before a water-system enquiry

Write a water-system enquiry that names the feed, the daily volume, the contaminant that matters, pretreatment, sanitisation, and the documents the laboratory

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

Temperature compensation on a pH meter

If Tris pH still moves while ATC is on, the meter corrected the electrode slope. The buffer's own chemistry is a separate temperature effect.

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

Tris buffers and temperature

Compare Tris with HEPES by the temperature of use. Tris pH falls as it warms; specify that temperature before you raise a reagent enquiry.

8 October 2026 · 8 min read

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

buffers and water

Troubleshooting an assay that worked last month

Choose the first variable to test when an assay that worked last month now fails: water, pH at the temperature of use, the salt hydrate, the electrode, or the

8 October 2026 · 9 min read

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

buffers and water

Type 1 type 2 and feed water in plain language

Decide which water name belongs on the method: an ASTM type, an ISO grade, or the feed entering the skid, and which test that name covers.

8 October 2026 · 10 min read