Tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane, also known as THAM, is widely used as a biological buffer or as a component of buffer formulations such as TAE and TBE buffers. Tris has a pKa of 8.06 and is very useful in the biology and biochemistry lab because it has buffering capabilities in the range of the typical physiological pH of most living organisms (pH 7.0-9.0). Tris has been reported to interfere with the activity of a number of enzymes, it should therefore be used carefully when studying proteins.