Merck, 69892-100G, MES monohydrate

MES monohydrate, also known as 2-Morpholinoethanesulfonic acid hydrate, is a buffer used in research applications in biology and biochemistry. MES is a pH buffering compound with a pKa value of 6.15 at 20 ᵒC. MES was developed in the 1960s as one of Good′s buffers, which were designed with various criteria in mind, including midrange pKa, maximum water solubility, minimum solubility in all other solvents, and minimal change in pKa with temperature. MES is highly soluble in water and only weakly binds with certain metal ions, including Ca, Mg, Mn, and Cu(II), which makes it a non-coordinating buffer in chemistry involving metal ions. Further, It plays a crucial role in maintaining a stable environment in various applications, including cell culture media, protein-based buffer formulations, and electrophoresis running buffers. MES monohydrate finds extensive use in purifying antibodies, peptides, proteins, blood components, and growth factors. It also stands out as an excellent choice for capillary electrochromatography due to its low ionic mobility, offering a safer alternative to toxic compounds like cacodylate and non-zwitterionic buffers such as citrate and malate. Additionally, MES Monohydrate serves various purposes, including pH adjustment in growth media, stabilizing enzymatic solutions, and as a component of PAGE running buffers in diverse experimental settings.