Buffer salt effect on pH in the interior of an anion exchange resin

The internal pH of Q Sepharose Fast Flow anion exchange resin in equilibrium with a bis-tris acetate buffer solution is investigated as a function of buffer salt concentration. Direct evidence of a resin phase pH shift is presented. At low buffer salt concentrations of 20 mM NaCl the resin phase pH is found to be as much as 1.1 pH units greater than that of the buffer phase, approaching to within 0.1 units of the buffer phase at salt concentrations greater than 250 mM. An ideal model with no adjustable parameters based on the Boltzmann distribution and the electroneutrality condition provides excellent agreement with experimental observations. The model assumes that small ions do not bind to the resin fixed charge sites and the agreement between the model predictions and observed resin internal pH suggests that strong electrolytes do not form ion pairs with the resin fixed charge sites.