Buffer Recipe Calculator
Standard buffer recipes scaled to any volume, working strength or stock.
Amount = reference amount per litre × (volume_mL / 1000) / stock fold. For the stock option the fold is 1.
Final volume
1000mL
Add deionized water to 1000 mL.
Adjust the pH at working temperature, then bring to the final volume with water. Sterile-filter through a 0.22 µm membrane if the buffer must remain sterile; keep HEPES protected from light.
Learn more
What it does
Buffer recipes are usually published as amounts per litre of a concentrated stock, while everyday bench work needs a different volume and often a working dilution. Rescaling by hand invites arithmetic slips, especially for recipes that mix grams and millilitres or that carry an awkward fold such as 50×. This tool applies one scale factor to the whole recipe, so every component stays in the same proportion. It also separates the two operations that are easy to conflate: diluting the stock, and bringing the solution to its final volume.
When to use it
Use it to prepare PBS for cell work, TAE or TBS for electrophoresis and washing steps, TE for DNA storage, SSC for hybridization, and HEPES or Tris-HCl for biochemical assays. It is also useful when switching a protocol between volumes, for example from a 1 L bottle to a 500 mL filter unit, or when preparing 1× buffer from a 10× or 50× concentrate in a hurry.
FAQ
- How do I make 1× working solution from a 10× stock recipe?
- Divide the amounts for 1 L of stock by the fold of the stock, then scale to your final volume. For 500 mL of 1× PBS prepared from the 10× recipe, each amount is multiplied by 0.5 L / 10 = 0.05, so 80 g of NaCl becomes 4 g. The calculator does this automatically when you choose the working option.
- Should I adjust the pH before or after bringing to volume?
- Adjust the pH before the final volume adjustment whenever possible, using a concentrated acid or base, then add water to the mark. Tris and phosphate buffers shift pH on dilution and with temperature, so equilibrate the solution to your working temperature before the final adjustment.
- Can I autoclave or filter-sterilize these buffers?
- PBS, TBS, TE and SSC tolerate autoclaving, but TAE and Tris-containing solutions should be filter-sterilized with a 0.22 µm membrane to avoid volume loss and pH drift. HEPES is light sensitive and should be stored protected from light.
- Why do the TAE amounts include millilitres of liquid?
- The 50× TAE recipe uses glacial acetic acid and a 0.5 M EDTA stock, both of which are liquids, so their amounts are given in millilitres rather than grams. The calculator keeps whichever unit belongs to each ingredient instead of forcing everything into grams.