Biological Buffers

TAPS is a zwitterionic buffering agent used in biochemistry and molecular biology that was selected and described by Good et al. It is part of the Tris family of buffers and is useful for a pH range of 7.7 – 9.1. TAPS is commonly used in capillary electrophoresis to analyze DNA and in planar chromatography to separate dyes. It is the preferred culture media buffer used for dinoflagellate experiments, allowing for minimal pH change and maximal growth. TAPS may form a complex with some common metals so stability constants and concentrations should be taken into account when choosing this buffer. TAPS is capable of inhibiting connexin channels in animal cells.

TES is a zwitterionic buffering agent used in biochemistry and molecular biology that was selected and described by Good et al. It is part of the Tris family of buffers and has a pKa that is right at physiological pH (7.4) at 25°C, giving it a useful pH range of 6.8 – 8.2. It is used in various protein assays, in micellar electrokinetic chromatography and in Test Yolk Buffer medium. Like most neutral pH, amine-based buffers, TES forms a complex with DNA; it affects restriction enzymes kinetics more than HEPES, but less than Tris. It also forms a complex with Cu(II) ions. TES is capable of influencing mRNA expression and embryo development. It is suitable for use in the bicinchoninic acid (BCA) assay.

Tricine is a zwitterionic buffering agent used in biochemistry and molecular biology that was selected and described by Good et al. It is part of the Tris family of buffers with a useful pH range of 7.4 – 8.8. Tricine is commonly used in SDS-PAGE to separate peptides that are in the molecular weight range of 1 to 100 kDa. It is also used in capillary zone electrophoresis, high performance liquid chromatography and ion exchange chromatography. Tricine was determined to be the best buffer tested for use in ATP assays involving firefly luciferase. Tricine can serve as scavenger of hydroxyl radicals; this should be taken into consideration if using tricine in the presence of an enzyme with oxidase activity. Tricine forms a complex with Cu(II). The addition of Cu2+ to a solution enables tricine to be used in the Lowry protein assay. Tricine can be used as a substitute for protocols that utilize the controlled substance barbital as a buffer.

GoldBio Tris has the highest purity available on the market. Short for Tris (hydroxymethyl) aminomethane (THAM), Tris is an organic compound often used in buffer solutions such as TAE or TBE for electrophoresis gels. Tris is highly soluble in water and is useful in the pH range 7.0-9.0 and is also used in the preparation of Laemmli buffer, one of the most common SDS-PAGE buffers. In addition, it can also be used for many custom running and loading buffers, most often with glycine and SDS.

Tris hydrochloride is a reagent that is used for the stabilization of buffer formulations and electrophoresis of biological molecules.