Sodium bicarbonate is the most commonly used biological buffer in cell culture media and reagents. It is typically added to cell culture media to maintain the physiological pH of a culture and to avoid undesirable fluctuations of pH due to cell metabolism that may have negative effects on cell parameters. As the cells grow, CO2 is produced as a by product of metabolism. CO2 dissolves freely in the medium and reacts with water to form carbonic acid which in turn decreases the pH of the medium. Sodium bicarbonate improves the pH control of medium incubated in a 5-10% CO2 atmosphere. It also supplies the carbonate ion required in tissue metabolism.
BCL013 is sterile filtered 7.5% sodium bicarbonate solution.