Bacteriostatic Water, Phosphate Buffered Saline and Acetic Acid: A Guide to the Consumables

Alongside the peptides we stock three diluents. They are the least glamorous items in the
catalogue and the ones most often ordered in the wrong size, largely because the product
codes look opaque until somebody explains them.

The naming convention

Every consumable code is two letters and a number. The letters identify the liquid and
the number is the fill volume in millilitres.

All are supplied ten vials to a box. Once the rule is clear the codes stop being cryptic:
BA10 is ten millilitres of benzyl alcohol solution, WA3 is three millilitres of saline.

What each one is

Benzyl alcohol 0.9% is what is commonly called bacteriostatic water:
water with benzyl alcohol added as a preservative, which is what allows a vial to be
entered more than once rather than being single-use.

Phosphate buffered saline is a buffered salt solution. The buffering is
the point – it holds a stable pH rather than drifting, which plain water does not do.

Acetic acid 0.6% is a dilute acid, stocked because a small number of
compounds are not readily soluble in neutral solutions.

Choosing a size

The 3 ml and 10 ml options exist for a practical reason: once a vial of
bacteriostatic water is opened its usable life is limited regardless of how much is left, so
buying a larger vial than the work requires is a false economy. The smaller size is there
for exactly that reason.

A note on shipping weight

Liquids are heavy, and this is the one part of our catalogue where that materially affects
what you pay. As noted on the BA3 product page, every additional four boxes of bacteriostatic
water increases the freight cost. If you are ordering consumables in volume it is worth
contacting us first so we can quote the shipping accurately rather than surprising you at
checkout.

Storage

All three are stored the same way as the peptides: sealed, in a cool dry place, away from
direct light and heat.

All products are for laboratory research use only and are not for human or veterinary use.