Red Blood Cell Lysis Buffer is used for optimal lysis of erythrocytes in whole blood or tissues from human, mouse, rat and other mammals.

The buffer contains ammonium chloride, which can efficiently lyse erythrocytes with minimal effect on lymphocytes. However, the buffer is not suitable for lysis of nucleated erythrocytes, such as the erythrocytes of birds and poultry. The buffer is sterile, and the lysed samples can be used for further analysis such as nucleic acid or protein extraction, cell culture and flow cytometry.