
Life Science Buffers
Balanced salt solutions and powders used for molecular, protein, nucleic acid, and cell biology applications including cell culture, electrophoresis, ELISA, and chromatography processes; available in a variety of formulations and grades.
Buffer solutions serve to keep pH (acidity or alkalinity) nearly constant in a variety of chemical and biological applications. For example, a bicarbonate buffer helps maintain the pH of blood, a buffered saline maintains cellular contents at a consistent pH level, and buffers help maintain a narrow pH range for enzymes to function correctly.
Most biological samples used in research are kept at a pH of about 7.4. Common biological buffers used for tissue culture include Dulbeccos phosphate buffered saline (PBS), Tris base, HEPES, MOPS, PIPES, and other formulations developed for specific cell lines or applications. Most buffers used in cell culture are also DNase-, RNase-, and protease-free.
The choice of buffer for a particular biological reaction or site depends on several factors:
- Temperature
- Desired or target pH
- Buffer toxicity (to the system)
- Buffer interactions with other system components
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Filtered Search Results

Phosphate Buffered Saline (PBS), 10X Powder, pH 7.4, Fisher BioReagents™

Phosphate Buffered Saline (PBS), 10X Powder provides a convenient way to make 1 L of 10X stock PBS solution.

Invitrogen™ PBS - Phosphate-Buffered Saline (10X) pH 7.4, RNase-free
PBS (phosphate buffered saline) is a pH-adjusted blend of ultrapure-grade phosphate buffers and saline solutions.


Non-distribution item offered as a customer accommodation; additional freight charges may apply.
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Physical Form | Liquid |
---|---|
pH | 7.4 |
Chemical Name or Material | Phosphate Buffered Saline (PBS) |
Recommended Storage | Store at room temperature. |
Concentration | 10 X |
Product Line | Ambion™ |
Gibco™ DPBS, calcium, magnesium
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Dulbecco's phosphate-buffered saline (DPBS) is a balanced salt solution used for a variety of cell culture applications, such as washing cells before dissociation, transporting cells or tissue samples, diluting cells for counting, and preparing reagents.


Non-distribution item offered as a customer accommodation; additional freight charges may apply.
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Includes | No Sodium Pyruvate |
---|---|
Physical Form | Liquid |
pH | 7.0 to 7.2 |
Manufacturing Quality | cGMP-compliant under the ISO 13485 standard |
Chemical Name or Material | DPBS |
Concentration | 1 X |
For Use With (Application) | Washing Cells Before Dissociation, Transporting Cells or Tissue Samples, Diluting Cells for Counting, and Preparing Reagents |
Sterility | Sterile-filtered |
Solution Type | Dulbecco's Phosphate Buffered Saline |
Product Line | Gibco™ |
HEPES Buffer, 1M Solution, pH 7.3 (Molecular Biology), Fisher BioReagents™

Commonly used buffering agent

Color | Undesignated |
---|---|
Physical Form | Liquid |
Chemical Name or Material | HEPES Buffer |
Grade | Molecular Biology |
Identification | Pass Test |
DNase | DNase free |
Merck Index | 15, 4689 |
Concentration | 0.95 to 1.05 M |
ChemAlert Storage Symbol | Gray |
Absorbance | ≤0.01(0.1M solution) at 260nm,0.004 max. (0.1M solution) at 280nm |
Name Note | 1M Solution, pH 7.3 |
CAS | 7732-18-5 |
Protease | Protease free |
pH | 7.2 to 7.5 |
Synonym | N-(2-Hydroxyethyl)piperazine-N«-2-ethanesulfonic Acid |
Purity Grade Notes | DNase-, RNase- and Protease-Free |
Recommended Storage | RT |
Molecular Formula | C8H18N2O4S |
Formula Weight | 238.197 |
Name Note | 1X Solution |
---|---|
CAS | 7732-18-5 |
Protease | Protease free |
Color | Colorless |
Physical Form | Liquid |
pH | 8.2 to 8.4 |
Chemical Name or Material | Tris-Borate-EDTA |
Grade | Electrophoresis |
Synonym | TBE |
DNase | DNase free |
Recommended Storage | RT |
Filtered Through | Filtered through a 0.2-micron filter. |
ChemAlert Storage Symbol | Gray |
HEPES Sodium Salt (White Powder), Fisher BioReagents
CAS: 75277-39-3 Molecular Formula: C8H17N2NaO4S Molecular Weight (g/mol): 260.28 MDL Number: MFCD00036463 InChI Key: RDZTWEVXRGYCFV-UHFFFAOYSA-M PubChem CID: 2724248 ChEBI: CHEBI:46758 IUPAC Name: sodium 2-[4-(2-hydroxyethyl)piperazin-1-yl]ethane-1-sulfonate SMILES: [Na+].OCCN1CCN(CCS([O-])(=O)=O)CC1

PubChem CID | 2724248 |
---|---|
CAS | 75277-39-3 |
Molecular Weight (g/mol) | 260.28 |
ChEBI | CHEBI:46758 |
MDL Number | MFCD00036463 |
SMILES | [Na+].OCCN1CCN(CCS([O-])(=O)=O)CC1 |
IUPAC Name | sodium 2-[4-(2-hydroxyethyl)piperazin-1-yl]ethane-1-sulfonate |
InChI Key | RDZTWEVXRGYCFV-UHFFFAOYSA-M |
Molecular Formula | C8H17N2NaO4S |
Tris Hydrochloride, 1M Solution (pH 7.5/Mol. Biol.), Fisher BioReagents™

CAS: 77-86-1,7732-18-5,1185-53-1 Molecular Formula: C4H11NO3 Molecular Weight (g/mol): 121.136 InChI Key: LENZDBCJOHFCAS-UHFFFAOYSA-N Synonym: Tris-HCl PubChem CID: 6503 ChEBI: CHEBI:9754 IUPAC Name: 2-amino-2-(hydroxymethyl)propane-1,3-diol SMILES: C(C(CO)(CO)N)O

PubChem CID | 6503 |
---|---|
CAS | 77-86-1,7732-18-5,1185-53-1 |
Molecular Weight (g/mol) | 121.136 |
ChEBI | CHEBI:9754 |
SMILES | C(C(CO)(CO)N)O |
Synonym | Tris-HCl |
IUPAC Name | 2-amino-2-(hydroxymethyl)propane-1,3-diol |
InChI Key | LENZDBCJOHFCAS-UHFFFAOYSA-N |
Molecular Formula | C4H11NO3 |
Gibco™ DPBS, calcium, magnesium, glucose, pyruvate
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Dulbecco's Phosphate-Buffered Saline (DPBS) is a balanced salt solution used for a variety of cell culture applications, such as washing cells before dissociation, transporting cells or tissue, diluting cells for counting, and preparing reagents.


Non-distribution item offered as a customer accommodation; additional freight charges may apply.
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Includes | Sodium Pyruvate |
---|---|
Physical Form | Liquid |
Manufacturing Quality | cGMP-compliant under the ISO 13485 standard |
Chemical Name or Material | DPBS |
Concentration | 1 X |
For Use With (Application) | Mammalian Cell Culture |
Sterility | Sterile-filtered |
Solution Type | Dulbecco's Phosphate Buffered Saline |
Product Line | Gibco™ |
Phosphate Buffered Saline (PBS) 1X without Ca and Mg, pH 7.2, Cytiva Hyclone™
Phosphate buffered saline (PBS) 1X, pH 7.2 is a physiological salt solution commonly found in many cell culture applications.

Gibco™ HBSS, calcium, magnesium, no phenol red
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Offers one or more environmental benefits itemized in the U.S. FTC Green Guides.
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Hanks' Balanced Salt Solution (HBSS) is used for a variety of cell culture applications, such as washing cells before dissociation, transporting cells or tissue samples, diluting cells for counting, and preparing reagents.


Non-distribution item offered as a customer accommodation; additional freight charges may apply.
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Includes | No Sodium Pyruvate |
---|---|
Physical Form | Liquid |
pH | 6.7 - 7.8 |
Manufacturing Quality | cGMP-compliant under the ISO 13485 standard |
Chemical Name or Material | Hanks' Balanced Salt Solution (HBSS) |
Concentration | 1 X |
For Use With (Application) | Mammalian Cell Culture |
Osmolality | 270 - 305 mOsm/kg |
Sterility | Sterile-filtered |
Solution Type | Hank's Balanced Salt |
Product Line | Gibco™ |
Gibco™ PBS (10X), pH 7.2
Greener Choice
Offers one or more environmental benefits itemized in the U.S. FTC Green Guides.
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Offers one or more environmental benefits itemized in the U.S. FTC Green Guides.
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Phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) is a balanced salt solution that is used for a variety of cell culture applications, such as washing cells before dissociation, transporting cells or tissue samples, diluting cells for counting, and preparing reagents.


Non-distribution item offered as a customer accommodation; additional freight charges may apply.
Learn More
Includes | No Sodium Pyruvate |
---|---|
Physical Form | Liquid |
pH | 7.1 to 7.3 |
Manufacturing Quality | cGMP-compliant under the ISO 13485 standard |
Chemical Name or Material | Phosphate Buffered Saline (PBS) |
Concentration | 10 X |
For Use With (Application) | Mammalian Cell Culture, Chromatin Biology |
Osmolality | 2800 - 3200 mOsm/kg |
Sterility | Sterile-filtered |
Solution Type | Phosphate Buffered Saline |
Product Line | Gibco™ |
Invitrogen™ PBS (Phosphate-Buffered Saline) Tablets
Phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) is a balanced salt formulation used for a variety of cellular applications.

Non-distribution item offered as a customer accommodation; additional freight charges may apply.
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Invitrogen™ 20X Bolt™ MES SDS Running Buffer
Optimized for use with Bolt™ Bis-Tris Plus gels, and are available in a variety of formats


Non-distribution item offered as a customer accommodation; additional freight charges may apply.
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For Use With (Equipment) | Bolt |
---|---|
Concentration | 20X |
Product Line | Bolt |
Invitrogen™ TE, pH 8.0, RNase-free
Invitrogen molecular biology grade, TE, pH 8.0 solution is supplied in one bottle containing 500 mL. The buffer is certified RNase-free, economical, and ready-to-use.


Non-distribution item offered as a customer accommodation; additional freight charges may apply.
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Packaging | Bottle |
---|---|
Physical Form | Liquid |
pH | 8.0 |
Recommended Storage | Store at room temperature. |
Product Line | Ambion |
Invitrogen™ Tris (1 M), pH 8.0, RNase-free
Invitrogen Molecular biology grade, 1M Tris, pH 8.0 solution is supplied in one bottle. The buffer is certified RNase-free, economical, and ready-to-use.


Non-distribution item offered as a customer accommodation; additional freight charges may apply.
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Formulation | 1,3-Propanediol, 2-Amino-2-(Hydroxymethyl)-,Hydrochloride |
---|---|
Physical Form | Liquid |
pH | 8 |
Grade | Molecular Biology |
Recommended Storage | Store at room temperature. |
Concentration | 1 M |
Product Line | Ambion |