Acids, Bases and Buffers

ACIDS, BASES AND
BUFFERS
DR CHRISTINE GABRIEL-BRISIBE
DEFINITIONS
 Acids
 -proton donors e.g HCl, carbonic acid
 Polybasic or polyprotic acid: can release more than one proton e.g
phosphoric acid ( H 3PO4 )
 Bases
- Proton acceptors e.g HCO3 -
- Some proteins in the body are bases like haemoglobin and albumin
- Buffer:
- A solution of weak acid and its conjugate base which resists a
change in pH when small amounts of acid or base are added
EQUILIBRIUM,IONIZATION AND
IONIZATION CONSTANT
 Equilibrium constant (Keq)
 Defines the tendency for an acid (HA) to lose a proton and form its
conjugate base (A-)
 Equilibrium constants for ionization reactions are usually called
ionization or dissociation constants (Ka)
 Where [H+]= Hydrogen ion concentration
 [HA]= undissociated acid concentration
 [A-] = Conjugate base concentration
ACIDITY AND ALKALINITY
 The acidity of a solution is gotten by noting its Hydrogen

ion concentration [H+]
 [H+] = Ka [HA]
[A-]
 pH expresses the total hydrogen ion concentration of a
solution
 pH= -log [H+]
 Water has a concentration of hydrogen ions of 10-7
moles/L and the pH of water is 7
 Acids have a higher concentration of H+ than
water with a pH less than 7
 Basic solutions have a lower concentration of H+
than water with a pH greater than 7.
 The pH value is inversely proportional to the
acidity
ACIDOSIS AND ALKALOSIS
 Acidosis occurs when there is excess acid or loss

of alkali.
 Acidosis is when the pH of plasma is less than
7.35
 Alkalosis occurs when there is excess alkali in the

blood or loss of acid. This is when the pH is above
7.45
STRENGTH OF ACIDS AND BASES
 A strong acid is one that dissociates completely

in solution e.g HCl
 A weak acid is one that dissociates partially in
solution e.g H2CO3
 Strong acids have a low pKa and weak acids
have higher pKa.
HENDERSON-
HESSELBALCH
EQUATION
SHOWING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PKA AND PH
BUFFERS
 They keep blood pH between 7.35-7.45
 It is the first line of defence in maintaining pH
 Very important buffer systems in the body include
 1. the bicarbonate buffer system
 2. The phosphate buffer system
 3. The protein buffer system
 4. Haemoglobin buffer system
 5. Ammonia (in urine )
BUFFERING CAPACITY
 The buffer capacity is defined as the ability of a buffer to

resist changes in pH when an acid or base is added to it.
 Buffer capacity is the number of grams of strong acid or
alkali which is necessary for a change in pH of one unit
of one liter of buffer solution
 The point of maximum buffering capacity is when the
acid is 50% dissociated. The concentration of proton
donor is equal to the concentration of proton acceptor.
At this point, pH = pKa.
 Buffer range is taken as I pH unit on either side of
the pKa.
 Acetic acid with a pKa of 4.76, has a buffering
range of pH 3.76-5.76
Bicarbonate-carbonate buffer
 The most important extracellular buffer in the body is

bicarbonate-carbonate buffer system.
 This works with carbondioxide in three equilibria between
the aqueous and gaseous phases both in the blood and
through the lungs.
 This equation moves either to the right or to the left

depending on whether there is more or less Hydrogen
ion or bicarbonate
 An increase in hydrogen ion concentration e.g in lactic acidosis
during strenuous exercise will increase carbonic acid leading to
more carbon dioxide which needs to be exhaled hence
hyperventilation
 A decrease in hydrogen ion e.g ammonia production in protein
catabolism will lead to dissociation of carbonic acid into H+ amd
HC03- leading to more dissolution of C02 from the lungs into the
plasma with hypoventilation.
Protein buffer
 In acidic medium:
 Protein acts as a base,
 NH2 group takes up Hydrogen ions from the medium
forming ammonia ions. Proteins become positively
charged.
 In alkaline medium:
 Proteins act as an acid. Acidic COOH group dissociates
and gives hydrogen ion, forming COO-
 Hydrogen ion combines with OH- to produce a
molecule of water, proteins become negatively
charge
 Na+Proteinate: salt component can combine
with strong acids and produces weak acid H+Pr-
Phosphate buffer
 Disodiumhydrogenphosphate present in the tubular fluid

dissociates into sodium ion and
sodiumhydrogenphosphate. The sodium ion gets
exchanged for hydrogen ion by the secondary active
transport into tubular cells
 Hydrogen ion released from carbonic acid with tubular
cells reacts with sodiumhydrogenphosphate to give
sodiumdihydrogenphosphate and is lost in the urine.
 This increases body pH
TITRATABLE ACID
 Titratable acid is the amount of strong base e.g NaOH

needed to titrate the urine pH back to 7.4.
 The secretion of H+ in the distal tubule , creatinine and
ketoacids all contribute to the titratable acid. The major
titratable acid present in the urine is sodium acid
phosphate
 The urinary buffers such as phosphate buffer and
ammonia which takes up hydrogen ion in ammonium all
help to keep the pH of urine not less than 4.5.

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ACIDS, BASES AND

 The acidity of a solution is gotten by noting its Hydrogen

 Acidosis occurs when there is excess acid or loss

 Alkalosis occurs when there is excess alkali in the

 A strong acid is one that dissociates completely

 The buffer capacity is defined as the ability of a buffer to

 The most important extracellular buffer in the body is

 This equation moves either to the right or to the left

 Disodiumhydrogenphosphate present in the tubular fluid

 Titratable acid is the amount of strong base e.g NaOH

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