How To Make 3 M Sodium Acetate, pH 5.2

About sodium acetate solution

Sodium acetate solution, especially at a 3 M concentration and with a pH of 5.2, is frequently used during DNA and RNA extractions. Since sodium acetate is a salt, its addition enables the precipitation of nucleic acids out of solution.

Download the recipe as a PDF

To download the 3 M sodium acetate recipe as a PDF then click here.

3 M sodium acetate, pH 5.2 recipe

The recipe below can be used to prepare a 100 mL 3 M sodium acetate, pH 5.2 solution.

How to make 3 M sodium acetate, pH 5.2

1. Weigh out 24.6 g of sodium acetate (anhydrous) and add to a 100 mL Duran bottle.
2. Measure out 70 mL of MilliQ water and add to the Duran bottle.
3. Dissolve the sodium acetate by adding a magnetic flea into the bottle and placing on a magnetic stirrer. It may take a few minutes to fully dissolve.
4. Adjust the pH to 5.2 by adding glacial acetic acid.
5. Top up the solution to 100 mL with MilliQ water.
6. Optional: Filter the solution using a 0.2 uM filter membrane.

Storage of 3 M sodium acetate, pH 5.2 solution

Store 3 M sodium acetate, pH 5.2 solution at room temperature (+15^oC – +25^oC).

Safety

Sodium acetate is not classified as hazardous. However, always be sure to read the safety data sheet before use.