I had to synthesize urine at various pHs, along with buffers to maintain those pHs during experimentation. 

It was critical I make basic urine, since urinary tract infections are typically accompanied by basic urine. (I was investigating these sorts of infections.)

Prepare Synthetic Urine at Basic pH with Buffer and NO Precipitate:

I made a Tris-HCl buffer for the basic urine, but precipitate kept coming out. I wasn't sure which solute was the culprit. 

I learned from someone on ResearchGate (Engelbert Buxbaum) that the co-solubility of bivalent metal ions (i.e. Mg2+ in this case) was getting in the way. You can find his response here: https://www.researchgate.net/post/How-do-I-get-my-basic-synthetic-urine-to-stop-precipitating-out-the-buffer

I don't recall the exact protocol I used by the end of it. However, now I know about the co-solubility of bivalent metal ions. If you have a perfectly dissolved solution with precipitate forming out of nowhere during synthesis, consider the acid-base chemistry and the metal ions at play! (The ingredient lists are also posted in that thread I Iinked above.)



Emily Harari

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Acid-Base Chemistry/Buffer Synthesis: Eliminate Precipitate from Basic Solution

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