Chemistry123Lab12

Abstract:
The affect of buffers and the factors that influence their capacity to regulate pH was
determinedbythreedifferenttests.Aphosphatebuffercontaining1.0MNaOHand0.5MH 2PO4was
madetomodelthehumanbloodbuffersystem. Thephosphatebufferwastitratedwithappreciable
amountsofhydrochloricacid,HCl,andsodiumhydroxide,NaOH,toexplaintheresponseofthe
humanbloodbuffer.ApHprobewasusedtomonitorthepHofthesolution.
Introduction
Inorderforlifesustainingchemicalreactionstooccur,thehumanbodymustmaintainapH
ofbloodbetween7.357.45.AcidosisistheloweringofbloodpHtolowerthan7.35andcanhave
severeconsequences.Duringstrenuousexercise,glucoseisknowntoconverttopyruvicacid,which
willfurtherconverttolacticacidduetothelackofoxygen.ThisprocesscausesthebloodpHto
lower, as well as soreness in the skeletal muscle (Virk 1994). Eleven welltrained cyclists were
chosentocompletea70salloutcyclingeffort.Acontrolsampleofbloodwastakenbeforethestart
oftheexercise,andwascomparedwithsamplestaken0,5and8minutesaftertheexercise.Atthe
endofthetrial,acidosiswasfoundwherethepHofbloodwas7.20(Thomasetal.2015).
Inthisexperiment,humanbloodbufferwasmodeledbyaphosphatebuffer.Theexperiment
wasconductedtoexaminethebehaviourofthehumanbloodbufferanditsresponsetoincreased
amountsofacidandbaseinthebloodstream.ThephosphatebufferwastitratedwithHClandNaOH,
andthepHwasdeterminedusingapHprobe.Furthermore,asimulationofacidosiswasdone.The
amountofRestorationSolutionrequiredtorestoreapatientsbloodfromapHof7.0backto7.45
wasdetermined.
ExperimentalSection
Mixing36.00mLof0.50MH2PO4and11.50mLof1.0MNaOHcreatedaphosphatebuffer
ofpH7.55.Thissolutionwasthentransferredintoavolumetricflaskandfilledwithwater.The
initialpHtitrationcurvewasobtainedthroughthetitrationof25.00mLofphosphatebufferwith
0.100MHCluntilthepHdroppedby1unit.ThesecondpHtitrationcurvewasobtainedwithasimilar
techniquebutwith0.100MNaOHaddedto25.00mLofbuffersolutionuntilthepHincreasedby1
unit.Lastly,atitrationcurveusingtestingbloodwasobtainedupontheadditionofrestoration
solutionuntilapHof~7.45wasreached.Thiswasthenusedtocalculatetheamountofrestoration
solutionneededtosavethepatientandgetapHof7.45
ResultsandCalculations(somecalculationsareattached)
(D1) i)volume(mL)ofH2PO4requiredtomakephosphatebuffer:
=0.06477 mol / L ( 0.100 L )=0.006477 mol

mol H 2 PO 4

2=0.1150 mol / L ( 0.100 L )=0.01150 mol

mol HPO4
most starting material=0.006477 mol+ 0.01150 mol=0.017977 mol
0.017977 mol
=35.95 mL
0.5 M

(ii)Volume(mL)ofNaOHrequiredtomakephosphatebuffer:

2=

0.1150 mol
=0.01150 mol
L ( 0.100 L )
mol HPO 4

0.01150 mol
=11.50 mL
1.0 M
(D2)

Acidbuffercapacity:
[(0.0224LHCl)*(0.10MHCl)]/0.025L=0.0896M

(D3)

Basebuffercapacity:
[(0.00750LNaOH)*(0.10MNaOH)]/0.025L=0.0300M

D5)

AmountofRestorationSolutionrequiredtorestorepHfrom7.00to7.45(25.00mLsample):
971dropsrestorationsolutionx0.036489mL/drop=35.43mL

(D7)

AmountofRestorationSolutionrequiredtorestorepHfrom7.00to7.45(7.0Lofpatient
blood):
7 L 0.025 0 L=280, so 280 0.03543 L=9.9 2 0 L of Restoration Solution

(D8)

Table1.Volumes(mL)ofRestorationSolutionrequiredforpatientswithacuteacidosis.

pH

Volumes(mL)ofRestorationSolution

7.40

1080

1188

1296

1404

1512

1620

1728

7.30

3080

3388

3696

4004

4312

4620

4928

7.20

4760

5236

5712

6188

6664

7140

7616

7.10

5880

6468

7056

7644

8232

8820

9408

7.00

7080

7788

8496

9204

9912

10620

11328

Weight

50kg

55kg

60kg

65kg

70kg

75kg

80kg

Discussion
2
36.00mL of H 2 P O4
and 11.50 mL NaOH was used to create the phosphate buffer
(D1). The acid buffer capacity was 0.0896M (D2), while the base buffer capacity was 0.0300M (D3).
The acid buffer capacity is greater than the base buffer capacity. This can be accounted for because
metabolic processes usually result in lowering blood pH thus, blood must have a higher acid buffer
capacity to be able to compensate for the low pHs (D4). 35.43mL of Restoration Solution was
required to bring the pH of the patient back to ~7.45 (D5). Since the initial pH of the blood was 7.00,

, must be added to raise the pH to ~7.45. This is because as

HP O2
4
+
increases, it reacts with H O , lowering the acidic content of the solution. (D6). If
HP O2
4
3
0.025L of blood required 35.43mL of restoration solution, then increasing the volume by 280 times
will also increase the amount of restoration solution needed by 280 times, therefore 9.920L of
restoration solution is needed (D7).
The addition of HCl to the buffer was done in efforts to simulate acidosis. Essentially since
the pH range is no longer within the range of 7.35-7.45, an estimation of volumes of restoration
solution is needed for the acidosis patients to obtain a pH back in the normal range. In the case where
the pH is dropped to a dangerous level, restoration solution treated the patient because it contained
the conjugate base,

a weak base solution. The restoration fluid raises the pH since it contains the conjugate base, PO 4-2,
thus reducing the concentration of hydrogen ions, resulting in a pH within the normal range.

Bibliography
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DuringExhaustiveEnduranceExerciseinMen.Physiol.1994