Phosphate Buffered saline (PBS)

Phosphate Buffered saline (PBS) in cell culture

Phosphate buffered saline (PBS) is an isotonic solution, unlike water it prevents the rupture of cells or shriveling of cells due to osmosis and is a non-toxic formulation for the cells. As a result, it is widely used in cell culture manufacturing and upstream process development. It maintains pH of the cells in culture media and can also draw out serum from cells before detachment. PBS has been studied as a suitable transfer medium for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) for a duration of up to 7 days. It is suitable for fixation and immunostaining in cell culture applications. Also, PBS can be used for obtaining spermatozoa from vaginal swabs.

Dulbecco’s Phosphate Buffered saline (DPBS)

Dulbecco’s Phosphate Buffered saline (DPBS) is a balanced salt solution that plays a vital role in cell culture applications. It helps maintain the intra- and extra-cellular osmotic balance and serves as a diluting, irrigating, and transporting agent. Additionally, DPBS provides a buffering system to keep the medium within the physiological pH range of 7.2 to 7.6. DBPS maintains normal cell metabolism by combining with certain carbohydrates, such as glucose, to provide energy to the cells. Also, it supplies the cells with essential inorganic ions and water, supporting their proper functioning. DBPS may or may not contain calcium chloride and magnesium chloride. It can be used in the retrieval, handling, and transfer of human embryos and gametes. DBPS also finds applications in various fields, including cell dissociation, tissue dissection, and immunostaining.

Phosphate Buffered saline (PBS) as a diluent/wash solution

Phosphate buffered saline (PBS) can be used to resuspend lyophilized powders of cell culture supplements. It also helps in the dilution of stock solutions to working concentrations. Additionally, PBS is used as a wash buffer in various fields such as Western blotting, Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), immunohistochemistry, tissue dissociation, cell culture, hematological and molecular biology procedures. It is also suitable for the resuspension and sonication of bacterial cells.

Phosphate Buffered saline (PBS) as a blocking agent

Phosphate buffered saline (PBS) containing Tween 20 acts as a blocking agent in western blotting and Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) techniques.