Bis-tris methane, also known as BIS-TRIS or BTM, is a
buffering agent
A buffer solution is a solution where the pH does not change significantly on dilution or if an acid or base is added at constant temperature. Its pH changes very little when a small amount of strong acid or base is added to it. Buffer solution ...
used in
biochemistry
Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...
. Bis-tris methane is an organic tertiary
amine
In chemistry, amines (, ) are organic compounds that contain carbon-nitrogen bonds. Amines are formed when one or more hydrogen atoms in ammonia are replaced by alkyl or aryl groups. The nitrogen atom in an amine possesses a lone pair of elec ...
with labile protons having a
pKa
In chemistry, an acid dissociation constant (also known as acidity constant, or acid-ionization constant; denoted ) is a quantitative measure of the strength of an acid in solution. It is the equilibrium constant for a chemical reaction
:H ...
of 6.46 at 25 °C. It is an effective buffer between the
pH 5.8 and 7.2. Bis-tris methane binds strongly to Cu and Pb ions as well as, weakly, to Mg, Ca, Mn, Co, Ni, Zn and Cd.
See also
*
Bis-tris propane
*
Tris
Tris, or tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane, or known during medical use as tromethamine or THAM, is an organic compound with the formula (HOCH2)3CNH2. It is extensively used in biochemistry and molecular biology as a component of buffer solutions ...
*
Tricine
Tricine is an organic compound that is used in buffer solutions. The name tricine comes from tris and glycine, from which it was derived.Good, N.E., et al., Biochemistry, v. 5, 467 (1966). It is a white crystalline powder that is moderately solub ...
References
Polyols
Amines
Buffer solutions
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