Question

Buffer systems present in blood help in maintaining the neutral pH of blood. Which is the most important buffer system present in blood?

Answer 1

HCO3- bicarbonate

Answer 2

Well, blood is not neutral pH. @cuddy_buddy

Answer 3

Mrdoldum it is not saying blood is neutral, the question is asking what is most important buffer to regulate blood ph, blood ph is 7.35-45, HCO3 is the most important with buffering the blood, the second would be carbonic acid

Answer 4

neutral ph is H20- 7, blood ph neutral is 7.35-.45, which HCO3 and Carbonic acid acts as buffer to regulate blood ph

Answer 5

@n648c788 No, blood is not neutral, ever. Neutral is pH 7 and only 7. Blood has a stable pH point but that is not the same thing as neutral. You are talking about the equilibrium point of a buffer system. This is a very common error that is taught, even at the university level.

Answer 6

I said everything in my last post, you can search it up, Im in med school, so I know my material, thats why I stated Bloods ph is between 7.35-.45, HCO3 is the main buffer, this is introductory Biochem material, Neutral PH 7 is water as I stated once again, the equilibrium of the body system is lung(HCO3) to kidneys(Carbonic acid)

Answer 7

The comment you made was not that relevant to the answer, I believe it is just an egotistic comment

Answer 8

@n648c788 It clearly states blood is maintained at a neutral pH, which it is not. pH of 7 is neutral. In one of your posts you stated that "blood ph neutral is 7.35-.45". That is an improper use of neutral in terms of pH. What you should have said is that the blood pH equilibrium is maintained at a pH of 7.35 to 7.45.

Answer 9

blood ph neutral 7.35-.45 says it all, I do not see your argument, calm the ego

Answer 10

Once again I said it all, you are not analytic, read the questions carefully

Answer 11

yes i agree with @n648c788

Answer 12

@barreraA Well, sorry, but you are not correct. Regarding pH, "neutral" can only mean 7. A few websites mess this up. I'll show you why it has to be 7 for neutral (which is also an equilibrium point).

First, the acid/base equation:

HA <-/-> H+ + A-
A- is the conjugate base of HA and H+ is the conjugate acid. Acids are proton chemicals that give up H+ in solution and bases accept the H+. We define pH as:

pH = - log [H+] meaning pH is the opposite log of the concentration of free H+ in a solution, molarity.

Now if we look at it from the alkaline perspective pOH is defined as:

pOH = - log [A-] where A- is the concentration of proton acceptors in as solution, molarity.

We know that the scale goes from 1 to 14. Any solution that has more protons that proton acceptors in it is acidic, the reverse is basic. If you sit around and do the math you will find that at pH 7 [H+] = [A-]

\[pH = -\log_{10}1x10^-7 \] Solve for pH and pH = 7

Now do the same for A-: \[pOH = - \log_(10)1x10^-7\] solve for pOH and pOH = 7.

At pH 7 there are never any free protons or free proton acceptors in the solution. Since there are just as many protons as there are acceptors the keep binding and releasing over and over again.

An equilibrium point the the pH in a buffer system of a weak acid and its weak conjugate bate where the disassociation constant for that acid is close the the pH of the solution of the weak acid and conjugate base. This point does not have to have an equal number of protons and proton acceptors that are free in the solution. We call it an equilibrium point because adding small amounts of an acid or base to this solution changes the disassociation constant of the weak acid or weak base. If we look at the original acid/base equation I have above: HA <-/-> H+ + A- we can see what happens. So, if that HA equation is a buffer system adding more H+ to the solution will mean that the free A- will accept the new H+, since the accept them the new protons do not stay as free protons in the solution and so the buffer system stays very close to the original pH. Adding a base is a bit more complicated, but it is the same concept as adding more H+.

Read here: http://chemed.chem.purdue.edu/genchem/topicreview/bp/ch17/ph.php

Answer 13

To further clarify, I am not saying the given pH range in the question is wrong, only that it is not "neutral". It is not an egotistical comment. I posted it so point out the incorrect usage of "neutral" in regards to pH. How would anyone ever learn anything if no one corrects our errors?

Yes, the buffer system that keeps blood at a stable pH range is the bicarbonate buffer system.