In living cells, both intra- and cellular fluids are heavily buffered. This is due
to all the biochemical reactions in a cell are catalysed by enzymes whose
stability and activity are extremely relied on the pH of the system. For
example, the pH at 7.4 is well-controlled in human blood providing
appropriate condition for haemoglobin and myoglobin in oxygen transport.
This is achieved by ―blood buffering system‖ being regulated by bicarbonate,
and other buffering agents. In addition, various biomolecules such as proteins
and nucleic acids as well as several organic molecules possess multiple acid-
base groups that are effective buffer components in the physiological pH
range. Likewise, to characterise the biomolecules or biochemical reactions of
interest in laboratory, all experimental solutions used are buffers to simulate
the conditions of naturally occurring systems. Because of most biochemical
studies focusing on extraction, isolation and purification of various
biomolecules, selection of an appropriate buffer with optimal pH has to be
considered. This is important as different buffers may affect extractability,
stability and even biological functioning of cell constituents. As a result, a
number of synthetic compounds have been developed for use as buffers. For
example, 0.05M glycine-NaOH buffer pH 10.5 is commonly used in
biochemical reaction catalysed by alkaline phosphatase