How It Works
This calculator works in 3 steps.
Enter the stock strength
Type the × value on the bottle, such as 10×.
Enter the working strength and volume
Type the target × value and the batch volume.
Read the volumes
The calculator returns stock volume and water volume.
Mix and check
Mix well and check pH, if the protocol specifies a pH at working strength.
The Formula
The formula applies C₁V₁ = C₂V₂ with × strength as the concentration.
V_stock = X_work × V_total / X_stockV_water = V_total − V_stock- X_stock:
- Stock strength (×)
- X_work:
- Working strength (×)
- V_total:
- Batch volume
2 L of 1× TAE from 50× stock needs 1 × 2,000 / 50 = 40 mL stock and 1,960 mL water.
Conversion Table
The conversion table gives stock and water volumes for 6 common concentrated buffers.
| Buffer | Stock | Working | Batch volume | Stock volume | Water |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PBS | 10× | 1× | 1,000 mL | 100 mL | 900 mL |
| TAE | 50× | 1× | 2,000 mL | 40 mL | 1,960 mL |
| TBE | 10× | 0.5× | 1,000 mL | 50 mL | 950 mL |
| Tris-glycine-SDS | 10× | 1× | 500 mL | 50 mL | 450 mL |
| TBS-T | 20× | 1× | 1,000 mL | 50 mL | 950 mL |
| SSC | 20× | 2× | 500 mL | 50 mL | 450 mL |
What Is the Concentrated Buffer Calculator?
The Concentrated Buffer Calculator is a tool that converts a concentrated buffer stock labeled in × strength, such as 10× or 50×, into a working buffer of chosen strength and volume. The × number is a dilution factor relative to 1× working strength.
Concentrated stocks save shelf space and preparation time. 50× TAE diluted to 1× gives 40 mM Tris, 20 mM acetate, and 1 mM EDTA. The calculator returns stock and water volumes for any working strength, including fractional strengths such as 0.5× TBE for gel electrophoresis.
Common Uses
There are 5 main uses of this calculator.
Gel electrophoresis
Labs dilute 50× TAE and 10× TBE for agarose gels.
Western blotting
Users dilute 10× running and transfer buffers.
Cell washing
Cell culture staff dilute 10× PBS for washes.
Hybridization
Molecular labs dilute 20× SSC to 2× wash buffers.
Kit wash buffers
Users dilute 20× or 25× kit wash concentrates.