company news about What is the difference between morpholine series buffers MOPS and MES?

In biochemistry and molecular biology research, the choice of buffer not only affects the accuracy of experimental results, but is also directly related to the stability and activity of biological samples. Morpholine series buffers stand out among many buffers due to their structure and physical and chemical properties. Among them, MOPS (3-N-morpholinopropanesulfonic acid) and MES (4-morpholinoethanesulfonic acid) are commonly used in this series. Although the buffers have similar structures, they show significant differences in application characteristics and scope of application. Let’s talk to you in depth about the differences between MOPS and MES, as well as their applications in their respective fields.

1. Similarities and differences in structural basis and physical and chemical properties of MOPS and MES
1. Structural basis
Both MOPS and MES are morpholine zwitterionic buffers, and their core structures contain a morpholine ring, which is the source of the similarity in their physical and chemical properties. However, there are differences in their side chain structures. The side chain of MOPS is a propyl sulfonic acid group, while the side chain of MES is an ethyl sulfonic acid group. This subtle difference results in their buffering capacity, pH range, etc. differences in aspects.
2. Physical and chemical properties
Both are white crystalline powders that are easily soluble in water, and both provide ideal buffering within a specific pH range. However, the buffer range of MOPS (pH 6.5-7.9) is wider than that of MES (pH 5.5-6.7), and its pKa value (7.2) is closer to the physiological pH value (7.4), which makes MOPS more effective in simulating physiological environments. Advantage. In addition, MOPS has high transparency to UV light, which is beneficial to the conduct of optical detection experiments.

2. Comparison of MOPS and MES buffering performance
1. Buffering capacity
MOPS performs well in biological experiments that require accurate control of the pH environment due to its wider buffer range and pKa closer to physiological pH. It can not only provide a stable pH environment for cell culture, protein electrophoresis and other experiments, but also reduce experimental errors caused by pH fluctuations. In contrast, although MES is also a good buffer, its narrow buffer range and slightly lower pKa value limit its application under certain specific conditions.
2. Biocompatibility
As a biological buffer, MOPS's good biocompatibility makes it an ideal choice for chloroplast thin layer preparation and cell culture media. MES also shows good biocompatibility, but may be toxic to plant cells at high concentrations (>10 mM), which limits its application in plant cell culture to some extent.

3. Respective advantages of MOPS and MES application fields
1. MOPS application
(1) Preparation of chloroplast thin layer: MOPS can support the electron transfer and phosphorylation process of chloroplast and is an ideal buffer for chloroplast-related research.
(2) Microbial culture: In the culture of Streptomyces faecalis and cephalosporins, MOPS provides a stable environment for the growth of microorganisms.
(3) Electrophoresis technology: As an electrolyte system component of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (IEF), the use of MOPS helps to improve the resolution and accuracy of electrophoresis.
(4) Molecular biology: In RNA isolation and membrane transfer experiments such as Northern hybridization, MOPS serves as a buffer to protect the integrity and activity of RNA.
2. Application of MES
(1) Protein electrophoresis: In the bis-tris gel system, MES is an ideal running buffer for resolving small proteins because it is transparent to UV light and does not form complexes with metal ions.
(2) Cell culture: Although MES needs to control the concentration in plant cell culture, it is widely used in buffer media for yeast and mammalian cells.
(3) Chromatographic analysis: MES performs well in cation exchange chromatography and various electrophoresis experiments. Its low ion mobility and conductivity characteristics help improve the sensitivity of analysis.

MOPS and MES are two commonly used morpholine series buffers, each with their own chemical properties and application fields. MOPS is suitable for a variety of biochemical experiments due to its pKa value close to physiological pH and wide buffer range; while MES performs well in acidic environments and specific biological cultures. When selecting a buffer, various factors such as the pKa value, buffering range, and solubility of the buffer should be considered based on specific experimental needs. By rationally selecting and using MOPS and MES buffers, experimental conditions can be optimized and the reliability of experimental results can be improved.