Skip to Content
Merck
All Photos(1)

Key Documents

69892

Sigma-Aldrich

MES monohydrate

BioXtra, ≥99.0% (T)

Synonym(s):

2-(4-morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid, 2-morpholinoethanesulfonic acid, Morpholine-4-ethanesulfonic acid hydrate, 2-(N-Morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid, 4-Morpholineethanesulfonic acid monohydrate

Sign Into View Organizational & Contract Pricing


About This Item

Linear Formula:
C6H13NO4S · H2O
CAS Number:
Molecular Weight:
213.25
Beilstein:
6350956
EC Number:
MDL number:
UNSPSC Code:
12161700
eCl@ss:
32129211
PubChem Substance ID:
NACRES:
NA.25

product line

BioXtra

Quality Level

Assay

≥99.0% (T)

form

powder or crystals

useful pH range

5.5-6.7

pKa (25 °C)

6.1

mp

>300 °C (lit.)

solubility

H2O: 0.5 M at 20 °C, clear

density

10.66 g/mL

anion traces

chloride (Cl-): ≤50 mg/kg
sulfate (SO42-): ≤50 mg/kg

cation traces

Ca: ≤50 mg/kg
Cd: ≤5 mg/kg
Co: ≤5 mg/kg
Cr: ≤5 mg/kg
Cu: ≤5 mg/kg
Fe: ≤5 mg/kg
K: ≤50 mg/kg
Mg: ≤5 mg/kg
Mn: ≤5 mg/kg
Na: ≤50 mg/kg
Ni: ≤5 mg/kg
Pb: ≤5 mg/kg
Zn: ≤5 mg/kg

application(s)

agriculture
diagnostic assay manufacturing
general analytical
microbiology

foreign activity

DNase, none detected
NICKase, none detected
RNase, none detected
protease, none detected

SMILES string

O.OS(=O)(=O)CCN1CCOCC1

InChI

1S/C6H13NO4S.H2O/c8-12(9,10)6-3-7-1-4-11-5-2-7;/h1-6H2,(H,8,9,10);1H2

InChI key

MIIIXQJBDGSIKL-UHFFFAOYSA-N

Looking for similar products? Visit Product Comparison Guide

General description

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.

Application

MES Monohydrate has been used:

  • to adjust the pH of the growth medium, facilitating gene expression analyses aimed at understanding the molecular mechanisms
  • in the fixation and imaging of cellular components, enabling the study of hypotonic stress′s physiological effects on cell structure and function through Super-Resolution and Live-Cell Microscopy
  • to adjust the pH of the growth medium to 5.5-7.0 in an in vitro cell wall stress assay
  • as a buffering agent to stabilize enzymatic solutions
  • as a component of PAGE running buffer

Features and Benefits

  • Suitable for Biochemical and Cell Biology Research
  • Tested for the presence of anionic and cationic traces
  • Tested to confirm low levels of heavy metal contamination, ensuring suitability for various applications
  • Effective Buffering from pH 5.5-6.7 (25 °C) with a pKa of 6.1 (25 °C)

Preparation Note

A buffer using MES free acid can be prepared by titrating the free acid with sodium hydroxide to the desired pH (pKa =±1). Alternatively, volumes of equimolar MES free acid and sodium MES can be mixed to attain the desired pH. Standard mixing tables using stock solutions to prepare a buffer of a given pH have been published.

Other Notes

Solubility/Stability: MES is soluble in water, giving a clear colourless solution at concentrations of 0.5M or higher. The pH of a solution should be between 2.5 and 5, depending on the concentration. Solutions are stable at 2-8°C for months.
Sterilization: Sterilization should be by filteration through 0.2μM filters. Autoclaving is not recommended by any sulfonic acid buffers. If buffers must be nuclease-free, it is best to treat the water, then add the buffer solids after autoclaving. When MES solutions are autoclaved, they turn yellow (although pH does not change measurably. The identity of the yellow breakdown product is unkown.
For additional information on our range of Biochemicals, please complete this form.

Storage Class Code

11 - Combustible Solids

WGK

WGK 1

Personal Protective Equipment

dust mask type N95 (US), Eyeshields, Gloves

Certificates of Analysis (COA)

Search for Certificates of Analysis (COA) by entering the products Lot/Batch Number. Lot and Batch Numbers can be found on a product’s label following the words ‘Lot’ or ‘Batch’.

Already Own This Product?

Find documentation for the products that you have recently purchased in the Document Library.

Visit the Document Library

Generating heparan sulfate saccharide libraries for glycomics applications.
Powell, AK et al.
Nature Protocols, 5 (5), 821-821 (2010)
In vitro cell wall stress assay for Fusarium oxysporum.
Perez-Nadales, E, et al.
Bio-protocol, 6, e1915-e1915 (2016)
Characterization of soil organic phosphorus in NaOH-EDTA extracts: A comparison of 31P NMR spectroscopy and enzyme addition assays.
Jarosch, KA et al.
Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 91 , 298-309 (2015)
Dawson, R.M.C. et al.
Data for Biochemical Research, 410- 410 (1987)
Good NE et al.
Biochemistry, 5, 467-477 (1966)

Our team of scientists has experience in all areas of research including Life Science, Material Science, Chemical Synthesis, Chromatography, Analytical and many others.

Contact Technical Service