Buffers/Salts

<h2 data-section-id="3d1466" data-start="0" data-end="47">What are cell culture buffers and solutions?</h2>
&nbsp;
Cell culture buffers and balanced salt solutions are isotonic solutions used to wash, dilute, transport, and temporarily maintain cells outside of complete growth media. Unlike culture media, these solutions do not contain the nutrients and growth factors required for cell proliferation. Instead, their primary role is to maintain physiological pH and osmotic balance while protecting cells from stress during handling and experimental procedures.
The most commonly used cell culture buffers include PBS (Phosphate-Buffered Saline), DPBS (Dulbecco's Phosphate-Buffered Saline), HBSS (Hank's Balanced Salt Solution), and EBSS (Earle's Balanced Salt Solution). These solutions are widely used in cell washing, passaging, tissue dissociation, sample preparation, immunoassays, and short-term cell maintenance.
&nbsp;
<h2 dir="ltr">What you will find:</h2>
&nbsp;
<ul>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Standard Isotonic Buffers to wash cells, maintain osmotic balance, and dilute reagents.</li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Biological Buffering Agents for metabolic support and pH maintenance.</li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Cell Dissociation &amp; Neutralizing Reagents maintain high cell viability and are used for cell recovery, detachment, and passaging</li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Surface Coating &amp; Matrix Solutions with high-grade gelatin for improved cell attachment.</li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Insulin-Transferrin-Selenite (ITS), Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA), and high-purity Holo-Transferrin for enhanced cell growth and viability</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
<h2 data-section-id="1cuz7jf" data-start="1165" data-end="1216">How to choose cell culture buffers and solutions</h2>
&nbsp;
PBS vs. DPBS PBS is a simple sodium chloride/phosphate buffer solution. DPBS adds potassium chloride and may include calcium, magnesium, glucose, and pyruvate depending on formulation. The practical difference between PBS and DPBS formulations is minimal &mdash; both maintain pH 7.2-7.4 and osmolality ~280-315 mOsm/kg and are functionally interchangeable for standard washing, immunoassay, and sample preparation applications. If your protocol is sensitive to minor salt concentration differences, compare specific formulation sheets rather than assuming equivalence. &nbsp; Calcium/magnesium-free vs. calcium/magnesium-containing Calcium and magnesium facilitate cell-cell and cell-surface adhesion. Calcium/magnesium-free PBS, DPBS, or HBSS is required: before enzymatic dissociation (residual Ca/Mg inhibits trypsin, requiring more enzyme and harsher conditions &mdash; the most common cause of poor trypsinization results), for rinsing EDTA or other chelators from culture, and for minimizing cell-cell aggregation during gentle dissociation or suspension recovery. Calcium/magnesium-containing formulations support cell binding and clumping, useful for transport applications or attachment-dependent procedures. &nbsp; HBSS/EBSS vs. PBS/DPBS for short-term maintenance HBSS and EBSS include sodium bicarbonate buffering and may include glucose, providing meaningfully better short-term physiological support for cells &mdash; particularly under CO₂ atmosphere &mdash; than the simpler PBS/DPBS formulations. Use HBSS/EBSS when cells need to remain viable for a meaningful period outside complete growth media (tissue dissociation workflows, transport, short-term holding). Use PBS/DPBS for washing steps, immunoassay/Western blot dilutions, and sample preparation where osmotic balance &mdash; not metabolic support &mdash; is the requirement. &nbsp; Phenol red and glucose/pyruvate variants DPBS and HBSS are available with or without phenol red and with or without glucose/pyruvate, allowing matching to downstream applications (phenol red-free for fluorescence work; glucose/pyruvate-containing for short-term metabolic support). &nbsp; Endotoxin and quality testing Regular quality testing of balanced salt solutions includes osmolality, pH, stability, and screening for endotoxins and bacterial/fungal contamination. For immune cell handling and other endotoxin-sensitive applications, premium formulations document endotoxin levels below 0.005 EU/mL &mdash; a meaningfully tighter specification than standard research-grade buffers. &nbsp; Powder vs. liquid format Powdered balanced salt solutions are manufactured without sodium (to avoid sodium bicarbonate off-gassing during storage), requiring sodium bicarbonate addition, pH adjustment, and sterile filtration at time of preparation &mdash; following the same principle as powdered classic media.Specifications context
&nbsp;
<h2>Specifications context</h2>
&nbsp;
Most balanced salt solutions are formulated to maintain physiological conditions with a pH of approximately 7.2&ndash;7.4 and osmolality ranging from about 280&ndash;315 mOsm/kg. These properties help minimize osmotic stress and maintain cell viability during handling.
Calcium- and magnesium-free DPBS remains one of the most commonly specified buffers for cell dissociation workflows because it improves the effectiveness of trypsin and other detachment enzymes. HBSS and EBSS continue to be widely used when short-term metabolic support is required outside complete growth media.
<a href="https://mbpinc.net/contact-us">Contact the expert team</a> at MBP today to get high-purity buffers and solutions for your lab.

Buffers & Solutions

1M HEPES

1M HEPES (TM058) by Applied Biological Materials is a 500 ml sterile liquid buffer solution at pH 7.0–7.6, formulated to maintain stable physiological pH in cell culture media independent of CO₂ levels. Lot-tested for sterility, endotoxin, pH, and osmolality. Store at 4°C.

Unit Quantity

Sterility

Appearance

Shipping Conditions

Storage Condition

Disclaimer

Shipping Condition

Apo-Transferrin

Apo-Transferrin (TM055) by Applied Biological Materials is 50 mg of non-sterile iron-free transferrin powder for use as a cell culture supplement in serum-free and low-serum media. Reconstitute at 10 mg/ml in sterile water or PBS, sterile-filter before use. Working concentration 5–10 µg/ml. Store powder at 2–8°C; reconstituted aliquots at –20°C.

G422-lot. E05091642E CoA

Applied Cell Extracellular Matrix

G422 by ABM — Applied Cell Extracellular Matrix, 25 mL liquid protein coating for cell adhesion, growth, differentiation, and migration. Apply as thin film (75 µL per 96-well to 15–17 mL per T175 flask) or solid gel. Store at 4–8°C, do not freeze, 1-year shelf life. Lot-tested negative for bacterial and fungal contamination.

BacAway

G285 BacAway by ABM — 10 mL antibiotic cocktail for eliminating gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial contamination from mammalian cell cultures. Working dilution 1:50 in culture medium. Store at −20°C.

Usage

Bovine Pituitary Extract (BPE)

Bovine Pituitary Extract (BPE) (TM067) by Applied Biological Materials is a 5 ml sterile liquid supplement (~14 mg/ml protein) derived from bovine pituitary glands, used to support proliferation of mammalian epithelial cells in serum-free and defined culture systems. Supplement at 35–70 µg/ml. Store at –20°C or below; do not refreeze.

Unit \Quantity

Application

TM054-MSDS

Bovine Serum Albumin Solution (7.5%)

BSA Solution TM054 (ABM) — 7.5% (w/v), 100 ml. Ready-to-use BSA supplement for serum-free cell culture medium. Protects media from oxidative damage, stabilizes fatty acids and pyridoxals. pH 6.5–7.5, endotoxin ≤13 EU/ml, sterility pass. Stable 12 months. Store 2–8 °C or aliquot at −20 °C.

Endotoxin Level

MSDS

CHIR99021

CHIR99021 G611 — selective GSK-3β inhibitor, ≥99% purity (NMR &amp; MS verified), 10 mM in DMSO (~430 µl), 2.0 mg. MW 465 g/mol, C₂₂H₁₈Cl₂N₈. For stem cell reprogramming, Wnt/β-catenin activation, and directed differentiation. Stable 2 years. Store −20 °C. RUO.

Concentration

Purity

Caution

Shipping condition

Gelatin Coating Solution (0.1%)

Gelatin Coating Solution 0.1% (TM063) by Applied Biological Materials is a 100 ml sterile collagen-derived gelatin solution for coating tissue culture surfaces to improve cell attachment, validated for mESC, miPSC, and PEF culture. Do not freeze. Store at 2–8°C; stable 12 months from shipment.

Gentle Dissociation Solution

Gentle Dissociation Solution TM080 (ABM) — 100 ml animal origin-free, recombinant enzyme-based cell dissociation reagent. Gentler alternative to Trypsin-EDTA for passaging adherent cells. For iPSC/ESC, primary cells, and antigen-sensitive applications. Room temperature stable; protect from light.

Human Holo Transferrin

G599 by Applied Biological Materials (ABM) is Human Holo Transferrin from human plasma, supplied as a lyophilized powder (100 mg). Purity >98%; single homogeneous batch; heat treated at 62°C ± 2°C for 10 hours. Used to support cell proliferation of K562, HUT-78, RAJI, and JARKUT cells. Store at 2–8°C; stable 1 year from receipt.

TM053-MSDS

Insulin Solution (10 mg/ml)

Insulin Solution 10 mg/ml (TM053) by Applied Biological Materials is a 1.0 ml sterile bovine pancreatic insulin solution (pH 2–3, ≤50 EU/ml endotoxin) for supplementing cell culture media. Promotes glucose uptake, protein synthesis, and cell viability. Store at –20°C; use within 2 weeks of thawing.

Insulin-Transferrin-Sodium Selenite Supplement (100X)

Insulin-Transferrin-Sodium Selenite Supplement 100X (TM052) by Applied Biological Materials is a 10 ml sterile 100X liquid concentrate of insulin, transferrin, and sodium selenite for serum-free and low-serum mammalian cell culture. Dilute 1:100 into medium. Lot-tested for sterility, pH, osmolality, and endotoxin. Store at –20°C.