Definition

1. Noun:
   • A solution containing a buffer: A liquid mixture that resists significant changes in its acidity or alkalinity (pH) when small amounts of an acid or a base are added to it. It is typically composed of a weak acid and its conjugate base, or a weak base and its conjugate acid.

Usage

• Noun:
  • A buffer solution is essential in many chemical and biological experiments to maintain a stable pH.
  • The laboratory prepared a phosphate buffer solution for the enzyme assay.
  • When you add a drop of acid to this buffer solution, you will notice very little change in the pH reading.

Advanced Usage

• "to prepare a buffer solution": To mix specific chemicals in precise proportions to create a solution with a known and stable pH.
  • The protocol requires you to prepare a Tris-HCl buffer solution at pH 7.4.
• "buffer solution capacity": Refers to the amount of acid or base a buffer solution can neutralize before its pH changes significantly.
  • The experiment failed because the buffer solution capacity was exceeded.

Variants and Related Words

• Buffer (n/adj): The general term for a substance or system that resists change in pH. The buffer solution is the practical application of this principle.
  • The carbonate system acts as a buffer in ocean chemistry.
• Buffering (v/n): The action or process of making a solution resistant to pH change.
  • The buffering ability of the solution was tested.
• Buffered (adj): Describes a solution that has been made into a buffer solution.
  • Use buffered saline to wash the cells.

Synonyms

• pH-stabilized solution: A solution whose pH is maintained constant.
• Buffer system: Often used interchangeably to refer to the chemical pair that provides the buffering action within the solution.

Related Phrases

• Buffer against pH change: To protect or prevent a solution from a change in acidity.
  • This compound helps buffer the cell cytoplasm against pH change.
• Run in buffer solution: To perform a process, like electrophoresis or chromatography, using a buffer solution as the medium.
  • The DNA samples were run in a TAE buffer solution.

Related Concepts

• pKa: A numerical value that indicates the strength of an acid in a buffer pair; it is crucial for designing an effective buffer solution.
  • Choose an acid with a pKa close to the desired pH for an effective buffer solution.
• Conjugate acid-base pair: The two components (a weak acid and its conjugate base, or vice versa) that constitute a buffer system within a buffer solution.

Noun

1. a solution containing a buffer