Bicarbonate Buffer
Bicarbonate Buffer — A buffering system based on carbonic acid and bicarbonate ions that maintains physiological pH (~7.4) in cell culture media for peptide bioassays.
What Is Bicarbonate Buffer?
Bicarbonate buffer (NaHCO3/CO2) is the primary physiological buffering system maintaining blood pH at 7.35-7.45. In peptide research, bicarbonate buffers are used in cell culture media (equilibrated with 5% CO2 incubator atmosphere) and as alkaline reaction buffers for conjugation reactions requiring pH 8-9.
Applications
- Cell culture: DMEM and RPMI media contain 24-44 mM NaHCO3. Requires CO2 incubator for pH stability
- NHS ester conjugation: pH 8.3 bicarbonate buffer optimal for amine-reactive biotinylation
- Limitation: pH drifts outside CO2 incubator. Use HEPES or phosphate for bench-top experiments
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Bicarbonate Buffer?
A buffering system based on carbonic acid and bicarbonate ions that maintains physiological pH (~7.4) in cell culture media for peptide bioassays.
Why is Bicarbonate Buffer important in peptide research?
Bicarbonate Buffer is a fundamental concept in reagent as it relates to peptide science. It directly influences experimental design, compound characterization, and the reliability of research outcomes across biochemistry and molecular biology disciplines.
Authority Sources
- Bicarbonate Buffer on Wikipedia
- Search Bicarbonate Buffer on PubChem (NIH)
- Research articles on ScienceDirect