Take you to understand the biological buffer Tris base (CAS: 77-86-1)

Tris base is named tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane; tromethamine; tromethamine; 2-amino-2-(hydroxymethyl)-1,3-propanediol. It is a white crystal or powder. Soluble in ethanol and water, slightly soluble in ethyl acetate and benzene, insoluble in ether and carbon tetrachloride, corrosive to copper and aluminum, and irritating chemicals.

Tris is a weak base, and its pKa is 8.1 at 25°C; according to the buffer theory, the effective buffer range of Tris buffer is between pH 7.0 and 9.2. The pH of the aqueous solution of Tris base is about 10.5. Generally, hydrochloric acid is added to adjust the pH to the desired value to obtain a buffer of the pH value. But at the same time, attention should be paid to the influence of temperature on the pKa of Tris.

Tris is often used as a biological buffer, and is often formulated with pH values ​​of 6.8, 7.4, 8.0, and 8.8. Its pH value varies greatly with temperature. Generally speaking, for every degree of temperature increase, the PH value drops by 0.03.

tris structure

1M Tris-HCl 6.8 and 1.5M Tris-HCl 8.8 are the most commonly used reagents for SDS-PAGE.
And TAE, TBE, etc. prepared by Tris are the most commonly used reagents for DNA electrophoresis, and TE (pH 8.0) is mainly used to dissolve DNA. (TE is the collective name of Tris and EDTA.)

Tris buffer is not only widely used as a solvent for nucleic acids and proteins, but also has many important uses. Tris is used for protein crystal growth under different pH conditions. The low ionic strength of Tris buffer can be used for the formation of the intermediate fiber of C. elegans nuclear lamin (lamin). Tris is also one of the main components of protein running buffer. In addition, Tris is also an intermediate for the preparation of surfactants, vulcanization accelerators and some drugs. Tris is also used as a titration standard.

The Tris buffer developed and produced by Desheng is used for the preparation of buffers in biochemistry and molecular biology experiments; the preparation of pharmaceutical intermediates and the preparation of kits.