What is a Good's buffer?

Good’s buffers are named eponymously, not as an assertation as to their quality, although a half-century of ongoing use is proof of their excellence. A Good’s buffer refers to any of the series of 20 dipolar (zwitterionic) buffer solutions developed by Dr. Norman Good in 1966. This series was developed to have several characteristics to make them useful for biological and biochemical applications. These characteristics included: high solubility, low toxicity, chemical and enzymatic stability, pKa of approximately 6-10, and as limited an effect as possible on biological systems. In addition to the original series, 6 more zwitterionic buffers have been developed since then, and are often called Good’s buffers as well despite their later formulation. These are: AMPSO, CAPSO, HEPPSO, MOPSO, and POPSO. 

Table 1: Selected commonly-used Good's buffers

See 'Additional Resources' for recipes and preparation guides for many common buffers including Good's buffers.