ph
Buffers work well only for limited amounts of added strong acid or base. Once either solute is all reacted, the solution is no longer a buffer, and rapid changes in pH may occur. We say that a buffer has a certain capacity. Buffers that have more solute dissolved in them to start with have larger capacities, as might be expected. Human blood has a buffering system to minimize extreme changes in pH. One buffer in blood is based on the presence of HCO3 and H2CO3 [H2CO3 is another way to write CO2 aq ]. With this buffer present, even if some stomach acid were to find its way directly into the bloodstream, the change in the pH of blood would be minimal. Inside many of the bodys cells, there is a buffering system based on phosphate ions.