Modified Barth's Saline (MBS) Preparation and Recipe

Modified Barth's Saline (MBS) is commonly used as culture media for Xenopus oocytes

To prepare

L of Modified Barth's Saline (MBS):

Change the value in the textbox above to scale the recipe volume

Table 1. Required components

Component	Amount	Concentration
Hepes (mw: 238.3 g / mol)	#	#
Sodium chloride (mw: 58.44 g / mol)	#	#
Potassium Chloride (mw: 74.55 g / mol)	#	#
Sodium bicarbonate (mw: 84.01 g / mol)	#	#
Magnesium Sulfate Heptahydrate (mw: 246.47 g / mol)	#	#

Prepare 800 mL of distilled water in a suitable container.
Add # of Hepes to the solution
Add # of Sodium chloride to the solution
Add # of Potassium Chloride to the solution
Add # of Sodium bicarbonate to the solution
Add # of Magnesium Sulfate Heptahydrate to the solution
Adjust the pH of 10x MBS salt solution to 7.8 with 10 M NaOH, and sterilize by autoclaving. Store indefinitely at room temperature.
Add distilled water until the volume is 1 L.
To prepare 1x MBS, combine 100 mL of 10x MBS salt solution and 7 mL of 0.1 M CaCl2 with 893 mL of autoclaved deionized H2O. Add antibiotics. Store for up to 1-2 mo at 16°C-18°C (the same temperature used for oocyte incubation). Check before use.

References

This online resource may be cited as follows

MLA	"Quest Calculate™ Modified Barth's Saline (MBS) Preparation and Recipe." AAT Bioquest, Inc., 31 Oct. 2025, https://www.aatbio.com/resources/buffer-preparations-and-recipes/modified-barth-s-saline-mbs-for-oocytes.
APA	AAT Bioquest, Inc. (2025, October 31). Quest Calculate™ Modified Barth's Saline (MBS) Preparation and Recipe. AAT Bioquest. https://www.aatbio.com/resources/buffer-preparations-and-recipes/modified-barth-s-saline-mbs-for-oocytes.
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