A buffer is a solution that resists changes in pH upon the addition of acid or base. Buffers typically contain several species that react with added acid and base.

Buffers are important in maintaining the proper environment within microorganisms and within other cells, including those in man. In the microbiology laboratory, many solutions and growth media are buffered to prevent sudden and adverse changes in the acidity or alkalinity of the environment surrounding the microorganisms.

Blood is an example of a natural buffer. In water, small volumes of an acid or base solution can greatly change the pH (measure of the hydrogen ion concentration). If the same amount of the acid or base solution is added to blood, the normal pH of the blood (7.4) changes only marginally. Blood and many other bodily fluids are naturally buffered to resist changes in pH.

In order to explain the properties of...