Buffer system

Buffer system
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For our bodies to function properly, a proper pH level of the blood must be maintained at 7.4. Buffers refer to a solution containing a mixture of weak acids and salts of their corresponding bases. The optimum value of the pH is maintained by buffer system made up of three types. The buffer maintains the blood pH by adjusting the pH level, that is, increasing the acidity if the pH rises above the optimum value of 7.4 or taking up the hydrogen ions when the pH of the blood lowers below the optimum value. In this context, we will discuss the intracellular and plasma buffer system and how it function.
Bicarbonate buffer system is the predominant buffer system that operates in the blood plasma. In essence, this buffer tries to strike a balance involving bicarbonate ions, carbonic acid and the carbon dioxide that are present in the blood plasma and body tissues. Carbon dioxide produced by the body cells react with water to form a solution of lower pH that contains carbonic acid. This acidic solution is unstable and always dissociate to form hydrogen ions and bicarbonate ions (Varum et. al 2014). The bicarbonate buffer system contains a conjugate base and a weak acid. In this regard, it can neutralize the acidic solution that is present in the body fluid. The bicarbonate buffer system plays a crucial role in eliminating the excessive carbon dioxide dissolved in the body fluid through the process of respiration. Through this process, cells excrete carbon dioxide which dissolves into the plasma fluid thus altering its pH.

The bicarbonate buffer system, in a series of simultaneous reversible chemical reaction, can dissociate the acidic solution into carbon dioxide and water and thus maintain the required level blood pH(Ferreira, 2015).
References
Ferreira, C. M., Pinto, I. S., Soares, E. V., & Soares, H. M. (2015). (Un) suitability of the use of pH buffers in biological, biochemical and environmental studies and their interaction with metal ions–a review. Rsc Advances, 5(39), 30989-31003.
Varum, F. J., Merchant, H. A., Goyanes, A., Assi, P., Zboranová, V., & Basit, A. W. (2014). Accelerating the dissolution of enteric coatings in the upper small intestine: evolution of a novel pH 5.6 bicarbonate buffer system to assess drug release. International journal of pharmaceutics, 468(1-2), 172-177.