Hemolysis buffer is a specialized chemical solution used in biomedical research and clinical laboratories to selectively lyse red blood cells (RBCs) - that is, to destroy their cell membranes so that the cell contents are released. This is an important method for isolating other cell types, especially white blood cells (leukocytes), from blood samples because they remain intact.

Hemolysis buffers typically contain hypotonic salt solutions or special detergents that destabilize and lyse red cell membranes without harming other cells. They may also contain components such as EDTA to prevent cell aggregation.

In cell biology and immunology, the use of hemolysis buffers is a critical step in many procedures, including flow cytometry, cell culture experiments, and various types of immunological assays. The use of an appropriate hemolysis buffer enables researchers to obtain pure populations of leukocytes for their experiments and thus obtain more precise and reliable results.