Hank's Balanced Salt Solution
Hank's Balanced Salt Solution - Related Videos
04:08
Determining the pH of Salt Solutions
0 Views •
2020
The pH of a salt solution is determined by its component anions and cations. Salts that contain pH-neutral anions and the hydronium ion-producing cations form a solution with a pH less than 7. For example, in ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) solution, NO3− ions do not react with water whereas NH4+ ions produce the hydronium ions resulting in the acidic solution. In contrast, salts that contain pH-neutral cations and the hydroxide ion-producing anions form a solution with a pH greater than 7. For...
02:02
Responses to Salt Stress
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2020
Salt stress—which can be triggered by high salt concentrations in a plant’s environment—can significantly affect plant growth and crop production by influencing photosynthesis and the absorption of water and nutrients. Plant cell cytoplasm has a high solute concentration, which causes water to flow from the soil into the plant due to osmosis. However, excess salt in the surrounding soil increases the soil solute concentration, reducing the plant’s ability to take up water. High levels of...
07:27
Making Solutions in the Laboratory
0 Views •
2023
The ability to successfully make solutions is a basic laboratory skill performed in virtually all biological and chemical experiments. A solution is a homogenous mixture of solute dissolved in bulk liquid known as the solvent. Solutions can be described by their solute concentration, a measure of how much solute is present per unit of solution. In this video, a step-by-step procedure for how to make a water-based, or aqueous, solution for biological applications is presented. The video...
09:49
Solutions and Concentrations
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2023
Source: Laboratory of Dr. Michael Evans — Georgia Institute of Technology A solution is a homogeneous mixture containing some components in small amounts, called solutes, and one component in a large amount, called the solvent. Solid-liquid solutions contain one or more solid solutes dissolved in a liquid solvent. Solutions are ubiquitous in chemistry: they are used to store and handle small amounts of material, carry out chemical reactions, and develop materials with controllable properties.
07:03
Assessment of Motor Balance and Coordination in Mice using the Balance Beam
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Cited by 395 •
2011
Deficits in fine motor coordination can be assessed with the balance beam test. Performance on the beam is quantified by the speed at which the beam is traversed and the number of times the mouse slips on the beam.
FAQs
The inorganic salts in HBSS help keep the external solution balanced relative to cells and tissues. This supports osmotic stability, meaning it limits disruptive water movement that could alter cellular structure during handling. Because rinsing and sample preparation can expose biological material to temporary laboratory conditions, maintaining this balance helps preserve cells for subsequent procedures.
Buffering components help limit pH changes while cells or tissues are outside their usual biological setting. Stable pH reduces chemical stress during washing, rinsing, and sample preparation, complementing the osmotic support provided by the salts. This is important when material must remain structurally intact before downstream work such as microscopy or enzymatic dissociation.
Some HBSS formulations include glucose or other nutrients to provide short-term energy during laboratory handling. This feature can support cells while they are being rinsed, washed, or prepared for another procedure, although it does not turn the solution into a complete long-term growth environment. The formulation therefore matters when selecting HBSS for a specific handling step.
Before enzymatic dissociation, HBSS can rinse or wash cells and tissues and help prepare the sample for the enzyme-based step. Its balanced salts and buffering support reduce osmotic and chemical stress during this transition. Better-preserved starting material can improve the consistency of later processing, although the overview does not specify particular enzymes, volumes, or exposure times.
HBSS is useful when cells, tissues, or prepared samples need temporary support during laboratory handling rather than a complete culture system. Common uses described here include rinsing cultured cells, washing tissues, preparing samples, and supporting handling before further procedures. These roles make it relevant to cell biology, microscopy, and biomedical research workflows.
Using HBSS can help preserve cellular structure and viability while biological material is handled before analysis or processing. That preservation may improve the consistency of downstream experiments, including microscopy and enzymatic dissociation workflows. The solution does not replace the later analytical or processing method; instead, it helps maintain a more suitable starting condition for those procedures.