Metal Complexing by Tris Buffer

THE inhibitory effect of tris buffer (I)* relative to certain other buffers in a number of biochemical reactions is known1,2. For example, tris gives lower values for the rates of synthesis of proteins in cell-free bacterial preparations than some other buffers. We report here some observations on the inhibition of the reactions of metal complexes of cobalt(III) which may be relevant in assessing the possible inhibitory effects of tris buffer in more complex systems.