Buffer Solutions

Buffer Solutions are used to keep the pH of a substance at a near constant level, whether that substance is an alkali or an acid. Buffer solutions are used in a wide range of chemical and biological applications.

For example, most biological samples than are used in research are made in buffers such as Phosphate Buffered Saline because many enzymes only work under very precise conditions. Too much or too little alkali or acid will change the delicate pH balance, causing the enzymes to stop working or to work more slowly. Enzymes are complex compounds which require precise pH levels in order to allow them to react properly. Blood is a good example of a Buffer Solution which occurs naturally and which enables life to thrive. Blood has a naturally occurring pH of between 7.35 and 7.45. Biochemical reactions involving enzymes rely on Buffer Solutions for accurate results.

Manufactured Buffer Solutions have a wide range of uses and chemical applications where they are used to resist changes in pH when small amounts of acid or alkali are added to them. Acidic Buffer Solutions are ones which have a pH of less than 7, this being the recognised neutral point. Alkaline Buffer Solutions have a pH of more than 7.

Industrial uses of Buffer Solutions include setting colorants and dyes in the manufacture of fabrics. Buffer Solutions are also used in the manufacturing process of pharmaceutical. A wide range of chemical analysis relies on the use of Buffer Solutions which are also used to calibrate pH meters in the laboratory.

Buffer Solutions are commonly used at pH 4, pH 7 and pH 9, although the pH scale runs from 0 to 7 and from 7 to 14. Practically, pH 2 is usually the lowest Buffer Solution manufactured and pH 12 is usually the highest Buffer Solution manufactured and pH 2 to pH 12 is known as the General Range. Buffer Solutions with a pH of 4, pH 7 and pH 9 are known as the Standard Reference Buffers.

Buffer Solutions can be manufactured with the addition of a colour, producing red, blue, orange, green, etc Buffer Solutions. The addition of a colour does not affect the properties of the Buffer Solutions, rather the colour is added for ease of identification as colour-coded Buffer Solutions help to minimise operator error.