Tromethamine

Tris, or tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane, or known during medical use as tromethamine or THAM, is an organic compound with the formula (HOCH2)3CNH2. It is extensively used in biochemistry and molecular biology as a component of buffer solutions such as in TAE and TBE buffers, especially for solutions of nucleic acids. It contains a primary amine and thus undergoes the reactions associated with typical amines, e.g. condensations with aldehydes. In medicine, tromethamine is occasionally used as a drug, given in intensive care for its properties as a buffer for the treatment of severe metabolic acidosis in specific circumstances. Some medications are formulated as the 'tromethamine salt' including hemabate (carboprost as trometamol salt), and 'ketorolac trometamol'. Tris, or tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane, or known during medical use as tromethamine or THAM, is an organic compound with the formula (HOCH2)3CNH2. It is extensively used in biochemistry and molecular biology as a component of buffer solutions such as in TAE and TBE buffers, especially for solutions of nucleic acids. It contains a primary amine and thus undergoes the reactions associated with typical amines, e.g. condensations with aldehydes. In medicine, tromethamine is occasionally used as a drug, given in intensive care for its properties as a buffer for the treatment of severe metabolic acidosis in specific circumstances. Some medications are formulated as the 'tromethamine salt' including hemabate (carboprost as trometamol salt), and 'ketorolac trometamol'. The conjugate acid of Tris has a pKa of 8.07 at 25 °C, which implies that the buffer has an effective pH range between 7.1 and 9.1 (pKa ± 1) at room temperature. Tris is prepared industrially by the exhaustive condensation of nitromethane with formaldehyde under basic conditions (i.e. repeated nitroaldol reactions) to produce the intermediate (HOCH2)3CNO2, which is subsequently hydrogenated to give the final product. The useful buffer range for tris (7–9) coincides with the physiological pH typical of most living organisms. This, and its low cost, make tris one of the most common buffers in the biology/biochemistry laboratory. Tris is also used as a primary standard to standardize acid solutions for chemical analysis. Tris is used to increase permeability of cell membranes. Tris (usually known as THAM in this context) is used as alternative to sodium bicarbonate in the treatment of metabolic acidosis.