The 1966 paper that introduced these compounds touted their use in the Hill reaction, as well as succinate oxidation in bean mitochondria. For 10 points each:
[10m] Name this group of twenty compounds that include Tris and HEPES (“heaps”). Many of these compounds are zwitterionic and are N-substituted derivatives of taurine or glycine.
ANSWER: Good’s buffers [or Good buffers]
[10e] This quantity is between 6 and 8 for most Good’s buffers, making them safer for research. The Henderson–Hasselbalch equation states that pH is equal to this quantity plus the log ratio of two concentrations.
ANSWER: pKa [or the negative logarithm of the acid dissociation constant; or the negative logarithm of Ka, but reject any partial answers that do not include all three parts; reject “Ka” or “acid dissociation constant”]
[10h] The Good’s buffer with the lowest pKa consists of this six-membered heterocycle bound to an ethanesulfonic (“ethane-sulfonic”) acid moiety. Another derivative of this heterocycle is used as a sacrificial catalyst in osmium tetroxide oxidations.
ANSWER: morpholine [accept N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide; accept 2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid; prompt on NMO or NMMO; prompt on MES]
<AN/KP, Chemistry>