A balanced salt solution (BSS) is a solution

Solution

In chemistry, a solution is a homogeneous mixture composed of only one phase. In such a mixture, a solute is dissolved in another substance, known as a solvent. The solvent does the dissolving.- Types of solutions :...

 made to a physiological pH

PH

In chemistry, pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. Pure water is said to be neutral, with a pH close to 7.0 at . Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline...

 and salt concentration

Tonicity

Tonicity is a measure of the osmotic pressure gradient of two solutions separated by a semipermeable membrane. It is commonly used when describing the response of cells immersed in an external solution...

. Solutions most commonly include sodium

Sodium

Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal and is a member of the alkali metals; its only stable isotope is 23Na. It is an abundant element that exists in numerous minerals, most commonly as sodium chloride...

, potassium

Potassium

Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K and atomic number 19. Elemental potassium is a soft silvery-white alkali metal that oxidizes rapidly in air and is very reactive with water, generating sufficient heat to ignite the hydrogen emitted in the reaction.Potassium and sodium are...

, calcium

Calcium

Calcium is the chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It has an atomic mass of 40.078 amu. Calcium is a soft gray alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth-most-abundant element by mass in the Earth's crust...

, magnesium

Magnesium

Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...

, and chloride

Chloride

The chloride ion is formed when the element chlorine, a halogen, picks up one electron to form an anion Cl−. The salts of hydrochloric acid HCl contain chloride ions and can also be called chlorides. The chloride ion, and its salts such as sodium chloride, are very soluble in water...

. Balanced salt solutions are used for washing tissues

Tissue (biology)

Tissue is a cellular organizational level intermediate between cells and a complete organism. A tissue is an ensemble of cells, not necessarily identical, but from the same origin, that together carry out a specific function. These are called tissues because of their identical functioning...

 and cell

Cell (biology)

The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of all known living organisms. It is the smallest unit of life that is classified as a living thing, and is often called the building block of life. The Alberts text discusses how the "cellular building blocks" move to shape developing embryos....

s and are usually combined with other agents to treat the tissues and cell

Cell (biology)

The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of all known living organisms. It is the smallest unit of life that is classified as a living thing, and is often called the building block of life. The Alberts text discusses how the "cellular building blocks" move to shape developing embryos....

s. They provide the cell

Cell (biology)

The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of all known living organisms. It is the smallest unit of life that is classified as a living thing, and is often called the building block of life. The Alberts text discusses how the "cellular building blocks" move to shape developing embryos....

s with water

Water

Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...

 and inorganic ions, while maintaining a physiological pH and osmotic pressure.

Sometimes glucose

Glucose

Glucose is a simple sugar and an important carbohydrate in biology. Cells use it as the primary source of energy and a metabolic intermediate...

 is added as an energy

Energy

In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...

 source and phenol red

Phenol red

Phenol red is a pH indicator that is frequently used in cell biology laboratories.-Chemical structure and properties:...

 is used as a pH indicator

PH indicator

A pH indicator is a halochromic chemical compound that is added in small amounts to a solution so that the pH of the solution can be determined visually. Hence a pH indicator is a chemical detector for hydronium ions or hydrogen ions in the Arrhenius model. Normally, the indicator causes the...

.

In medicine, balanced salt solutions can be used as an irrigation solution such as during intraocular

Intraocular lens

An intraocular lens is an implanted lens in the eye, usually replacing the existing crystalline lens because it has been clouded over by a cataract, or as a form of refractive surgery to change the eye's optical power. It usually consists of a small plastic lens with plastic side struts, called...

 surgery

Surgery

Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...

 and to replace intraocular fluids.

List of Balanced Salt Solutions

• Alsever's solution
• Earle's balanced salt solution (EBSS)
• Gey's balanced salt solution (GBSS)
• Hank's balanced salt solution (HBSS)
• (Dulbecco's) Phosphate buffered saline
  Phosphate buffered saline
  Phosphate buffered saline is a buffer solution commonly used in biological research. It is a water-based salt solution containing sodium chloride, sodium phosphate, and, in some formulations, potassium chloride and potassium phosphate. The buffer's phosphate groups help to maintain a constant pH...
  
   (PBS)
• Puck's balanced salt solution
• Ringer's balanced salt solution (RBSS)
• Simm's balanced salt solution (SBSS)
• TRIS-buffered saline
  Tris-Buffered Saline
  Tris-buffered saline is a buffer used in some biochemical techniques to maintain the pH within a relatively narrow range. Tris has a slightly alkaline buffering capacity in the 7–9.2 range....
  
   (TBS)
• Tyrode's balanced salt solution (TBSS)