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Question about buffers in chemistry?
Using pH based arguments, explain why scientists use phosphate-based buffers instead of buffers made using acetic acid/sodium acetate when doing experiments on aqueous biological samples such as cells.
2 Answers
- Ted KLv 73 years agoFavorite Answer
Buffers work best if the surrounding pH is close to their pK--in the pH range immediately surrounding their pK, their titration curves flatten out such that there's little or no change in pH. The pK of phosphate (around 6.9) is much closer to the physiological pH of 7.4 than is the pK of acetate (about 5), so phosphate would be the preferred buffer to use. At pH 7.4, acetate would tend to be much more ionized (i.e. it'd tend to give up H+, instead of holding onto them).
- DavidBLv 73 years ago
a phosphate buffer can buffer well at pH 7, acetate buffer is more acidic in the region it buffers well