= Phosphate-buffered saline
<Phosphate-buffered saline> is an aqueous salt solution containing <phosphate> species that act as a <buffer solution>, together with salts that control its <ionic strength> and osmotic properties. Common formulations are designed to maintain a near-neutral <pH>, but their precise composition varies.
The phosphate acid-base pair consumes added acid or base, limiting small <pH> shifts. The salt content makes the solution useful when biological samples need a controlled ionic environment. It does not reproduce every component of a physiological fluid, and added divalent ions can interact with phosphate; the formulation must therefore be specified when comparing experiments.
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