Use
Bacteriostatic water, within its date, stored cold once opened.
North & North · Research
Handling and storage
From sealed vial to the fridge door
Every vial arrives as a freeze dried powder, the most stable form a peptide can take. It keeps well sealed and cold. Once you add liquid, the clock starts. This guide covers the rest: what to mix with, how to mix cleanly, and how long a mixed vial keeps.
Why it arrives as a powder
Dry is stable.
Water is what wears a peptide down. Take the water out and the molecule holds still.
Freeze drying, or lyophilization, pulls the water out of the solution and leaves the peptide as a light cake at the bottom of the vial. In that state it can sit in a fridge for its full shelf life, and it rides out the days in transit without trouble. Adding liquid back is the step that wakes it up, which is why everything after mixing is about keeping it cold, clean and dark.
Sealed vials
Cold, dark, and closed.
- Store sealed vials in the fridge, between 2 and 8 °C.
- Keep them in their box or away from light. Light breaks peptides down over time.
- A few days at room temperature, in transit or before it reaches the fridge, is fine for a sealed vial. Refrigerate it when you can.
- Keep vials away from heat: no window sills, warm cars or spots near the stove.
The diluent
Bacteriostatic water, every time.
Bacteriostatic water is sterile water with 0.9% benzyl alcohol. The benzyl alcohol keeps bacteria from growing after the stopper has been pierced, so a vial stays clean across repeated entries. It is the standard choice for research preparation, and it is in our catalog.
Avoid
Saline, which can destabilize some peptides. Tap, distilled or boiled water, which are not sterile. Expired bacteriostatic water, whose preservative has weakened.
Reconstitution
Slow and clean.
- Wash your hands and clear a clean surface.
- Take the caps off both vials and wipe each rubber stopper with an alcohol pad. Let them air dry.
- Draw the bacteriostatic water into a sterile syringe. The volume you add sets the concentration, so decide it before you start and write it down.
- Hold the plunger as the needle goes in. Sealed vials are often under vacuum and will pull the water in fast if you let them.
- Run the water down the inside wall of the vial, not straight onto the powder.
- Let it dissolve on its own. If it needs help, swirl gently or roll the vial between your palms. Never shake it.
- Check it. The solution should be clear, with no cloudiness, foam that stays, or particles.
- Label the vial with the date you mixed it and the volume you added, then refrigerate it.
Mixed vials
Back in the fridge within the hour.
- Keep mixed vials refrigerated, between 2 and 8 °C, and out of the light.
- Never freeze a mixed vial. Ice crystals damage the peptide.
- Wipe the stopper with alcohol before every entry, and use a fresh sterile needle each time.
- A mixed vial keeps for 28 to 60 days in the fridge. Kept cold, clean and dark, many researchers find it holds up well toward the longer end. The 28 day figure is simply the standard guideline once a stopper has been pierced. Past 28 days, check it before every use.
Discard
When in doubt, start fresh.
Discard a mixed vial if it turns cloudy, shows particles or a change in color, has been frozen, or has been left warm for hours.
Common questions
Questions people ask.
I didn’t refrigerate my order for a few days. Is it still good?
Yes. Sealed vials are freeze dried, and a few days at room temperature is well within what they handle. Move them to the fridge now and store them cold from here on.
Can I use plain sterile water instead of bacteriostatic water?
Plain sterile water has no preservative, so once its stopper has been pierced it should not be kept for later. For a vial you will enter more than once, bacteriostatic water is the better choice.
Why not shake the vial to dissolve it faster?
Shaking can damage the peptide’s structure and leaves foam behind. A gentle swirl or a slow roll between your palms dissolves it just as well.
Should the bacteriostatic water go in the fridge too?
Once it has been opened, yes. Cold slows the breakdown of the preservative. Keep it out of the light and use it within its date.
How do I know a vial has gone bad?
Cloudiness, particles, a change in color, or a vial that has frozen or sat warm. Any of those, start a fresh one.