Tricine is an organic compound that is used in buffer solutions. The name tricine comes from tris and glycine, from which it was derived. It is a white crystalline powder that is moderately soluble in water.

Tricine is a commonly used electrophoresis buffer for resuspension of cell pellets. It has a lower negative charge than glycine, allowing it to migrate faster. In addition, its high ionic strength causes more ion movement and less protein movement. This allows low molecular weight proteins to be separated in lower percent acrylamide gels. A discontinuous SDS-PAGE system for the separation of proteins in the range from 1 to 100 kDa was described by Schagger and von Jagow in 1987. Tricine, the trailing ion, allows a resolution of small proteins at lower acrylamide concentrations than in glycine–SDS-PAGE systems. A superior resolution of proteins, especially in the range between 5 and 20 kDa, is achieved without using urea. Proteins above 30 kDa are already destacked within the sample gel. Thus, a smooth passage of these proteins from the sample to the separating gel is warranted, and overloading effects are reduced. This is of special importance when large amounts of protein are to be loaded onto preparative gels. The omission of glycine and urea prevents disturbances that might occur during subsequent amino acid sequencing.

Tricine (1 M, pH 8.05) Preparation and Recipe：

Prepare 800 mL of dH2O in a suitable container.

Add 179.17 g of Tricine to the solution.

Adjust the solution to the desired pH with 10N NaOH.

Add dH2O until the volume is 1 L.