The EB1200 is the PBS (phosphate-buffered saline) buffer powder in the Accuris QuickSilver Powdered Buffer Pack family — sold as 100 pre-measured pouches, each making 1 L of 1× working buffer when dissolved in water. PBS is the physiological buffer whose osmolality and ion concentration mimic those of the human body — making it the workhorse buffer for cell-culture applications, HPLC mobile phases, mass-spectrometry sample buffers, and tissue / cell preparation workflows across biology research, biotech R&D, and clinical-research labs.
Per brochure: *"Because its osmolality and ion concentration closely mimic that of the human body, PBS is commonly used for cell culture applications, as well as HPLC and MS. The 1X PBS solution contains 137 mM NaCl, 2.7 mM KCl and 10 mM phosphate."*
Key Specifications
| SKU | EB1200 |
| Type | PBS (phosphate-buffered saline) buffer powder, pre-measured pouches |
| Pack quantity | 100 pouches per box |
| Per-pouch yield | 1 L of 1× working buffer (each pouch = 1 L) |
| 1× formulation | 137 mM NaCl, 2.7 mM KCl, 10 mM phosphate |
| Workflow application | Cell culture, HPLC, MS, tissue prep, antibody dilution, general physiological buffer |
| Sister buffer | EB1201 (PBS-T — PBS supplemented with 0.05 % Tween-20 for ELISA wash workflows) |
| Quality / handling | Nuclease-free, protease-free, shelf-stable; preprinted ID labels included |
| List price | $181 (100 pouches) |
Why PBS Is the Physiological-Buffer Workhorse
PBS's chemistry is designed to mimic mammalian physiological saline conditions:
- 137 mM NaCl — matches the chloride and sodium concentration of mammalian plasma
- 2.7 mM KCl — matches plasma potassium concentration
- 10 mM phosphate — provides buffering capacity at physiological pH (~7.4)
This osmolality and ion-concentration match means PBS does not lyse, shrink, or osmotically stress mammalian cells when used as a wash, dilution, or short-term incubation buffer. The buffering capacity is sufficient to maintain pH for short-term cell-handling workflows (hours, not days — cell culture media include richer buffering for long-term incubation).
Application Profile
Cell-culture wash workflows — PBS is the standard wash buffer for adherent cell-culture preparations (e.g., washing cells before trypsinization, washing wells before fixation, washing before staining). Per-pouch fresh PBS prep eliminates the contamination risk of long-term PBS-bottle storage.
HPLC mobile-phase buffer — PBS at physiological ionic strength is used as an aqueous mobile phase for protein-HPLC workflows (size-exclusion, ion-exchange, affinity chromatography).
Mass-spectrometry sample buffer — PBS is used as a sample-resuspension buffer for MS-prep workflows where physiological-condition sample preparation matters.
Antibody dilution buffer — primary and secondary antibody dilutions for IHC, IF, ICC workflows commonly use PBS as the diluent.
Tissue and cell-fixation prep — PBS washes before formaldehyde / paraformaldehyde fixation prepare tissues and cells for downstream histology / immunostaining.
Coomassie / silver-stain destain workflows — PBS as a destain wash buffer for SDS-PAGE gel staining workflows.
Teaching laboratory consumable — biology / biochemistry / cell-biology coursework requires PBS for student-cohort exercises; pre-measured pouches simplify per-class prep.
QuickSilver PBS vs Make-Your-Own PBS
Traditional lab PBS preparation:
- Weigh out NaCl, KCl, Na₂HPO₄, KH₂PO₄ (4 components)
- Dissolve in DI water
- Adjust pH to 7.4 with HCl / NaOH
- Verify, sterilize (filter or autoclave) per workflow
- Store as bulk stock; manage per-aliquot dispensing
QuickSilver PBS eliminates the weighing, multi-component handling, and pH adjustment — open the pouch, empty into water, stir until dissolved. Per brochure: pouches are nuclease-free and protease-free out of the box. For sterile workflows, the freshly dissolved buffer can still be filter-sterilized per the lab's standard protocol.
Workflow consistency benefit. Make-your-own PBS introduces per-prep weighing-error variance (small but cumulative across many preps); pre-measured pouches eliminate this variance, supporting batch-to-batch reproducibility for sensitive workflows (e.g., quantitative ELISA, mass-spectrometry quantification, IF-image quantification).
EB1200 vs EB1201 — PBS vs PBS-T
| Buffer | 1× formulation | Workflow |
| EB1200 PBS (this product) | 137 mM NaCl, 2.7 mM KCl, 10 mM phosphate | Cell culture, HPLC, MS, antibody dilution, general physiological buffer |
| EB1201 PBS-T | PBS + 0.05 % Tween-20 | ELISA wash buffer (the Tween-20 detergent reduces non-specific antibody binding to plate surfaces) |
Pick EB1200 PBS when: workflows do not include detergent-mediated wash steps. Cell-culture, HPLC, MS, antibody-dilution.
Pick EB1201 PBS-T when: workflows include ELISA / immunoassay wash steps where the Tween-20 detergent is required.
Ordering & Configuration
Per-pouch workflow consumable. Each pouch makes 1 L of 1× buffer; pack of 100 pouches supports 100 L of buffer prep.
Pre-printed ID labels included. Each pack ships with preprinted bottle labels for buffer bottles.
Confirm at quote: workflow buffer-volume consumption, PBS-vs-PBS-T selection (EB1201 for ELISA wash workflows), sterility-handling protocol, shelf-storage capacity, and lead time.
Warranty: Per Accuris standard reagent terms — confirm at quote.
Accuris QuickSilver Western-blot / ELISA / cell-culture buffer family:
- EB1200 (this product) — PBS (general physiological buffer, 100 pouches, $181)
- EB1201 — PBS-T (PBS + Tween-20 for ELISA wash, 100 pouches, $181)
- EB1202 — TBS (Tris-buffered saline, 100 pouches, $254)
- EB1203 — TBS-T (TBS + Tween-20, 100 pouches, $254)
Pick PBS for general physiological-buffer workflows; step to PBS-T for ELISA wash steps; step to TBS / TBS-T for Western-blot workflows requiring narrow-pH-range buffering.
