Bacteriostatic water 3ml
£3.99 per vial · Lab supplies · Research use only
About Bacteriostatic Water 3ml
Bacteriostatic Water 3ml is water with 0.9% benzyl alcohol, supplied as a liquid in a single vial for in-vitro laboratory preparation work.
Product specifications
- Compound
- Bacteriostatic Water
- Declared content
- 3ml per vial
- Format
- Liquid solution
Batch documentation
A certificate of analysis is not currently published for this listing. Contact us for the available batch documentation before ordering.
Ask about batch documentation →
Intended use
For in-vitro laboratory research only. Not for human or veterinary use.
Technical notes and further reading
Specification
| SKU | BA03 |
|---|---|
| Compound | Bacteriostatic Water |
| Price | £3.99 per vial |
| Format | 3ml per vial |
| Availability | Out of stock |
| Composition | Sterile water with 0.9% (w/v) benzyl alcohol |
| Component: Water | CAS 7732-18-5 · H2O · MW 18.02 g/mol |
| Component: Benzyl alcohol | CAS 100-51-6 · C7H8O · MW 108.14 g/mol |
| Published batch / lot | No published record — contact us before ordering |
| Reported purity | Stated on the certificate of analysis — available on request |
| Identity status | LC-MS identity result not published |
| Storage | Store at 20–25 °C, sealed, protected from light; do not freeze |
| Certificate of analysis | Certificate of analysis available on request |
| Intended use | In-vitro laboratory research only |
Bacteriostatic water 3ml for UK laboratories
Bacteriostatic water, often searched as bac water, is listed here in a 3ml laboratory reagent vial. A 10ml option is also listed separately. Compare the labelled volume and documentation for your laboratory requirements. Peptide HPLC purity figures do not apply to this reagent. Check any dispatch notice shown before ordering; research use only.
- Bacteriostatic Water 10ml — Compare the current price, availability and batch record.
What does the research on Bacteriostatic water investigate?
The three millilitre vial of bacteriostatic water exists because most peptide work involves small quantities, and a larger container than the work requires is a liability rather than a convenience. Every puncture of a septum is an opportunity for contamination, and a vial that is opened repeatedly over months accumulates those opportunities. A smaller container is used up sooner and replaced, which resets the clock. The contents are water with 0.9% benzyl alcohol, a preservative that inhibits bacterial growth rather than eliminating it, and 0.9% is the proportion conventionally used. It is worth being clear about what the solution is not: it is not sterile water, and the two are not interchangeable, because one carries a preservative that the other does not and that difference shows up both in a vial's working life and in a UV chromatogram. This page describes the material and its documentation only.
Who can buy Bacteriostatic water?
Bacteriostatic water is supplied strictly as a research chemical for in-vitro laboratory research. Products are sold exclusively to qualified researchers and licensed laboratories.
At checkout the buyer confirms that they are 18 or over, are buying in the course of research, and are responsible for handling, storing and disposing of the material in line with their laboratory's procedures. Bacteriostatic water is not for human or veterinary use.
We only answer questions about specifications, documentation and orders.
Bacteriostatic water is supplied as a laboratory solvent, on the same research-only basis as every other product here.
How are identity and quality assured?
Each released lot is tested and the result is published, rather than the material being described as high purity on the strength of a supplier's word. Purity is measured by reversed-phase HPLC at an independent laboratory. The laboratory used for every lot published so far is Janoshik Analytical, in the Czech Republic, and the result is stated alongside the measured content against label so the two can be read together.
The report carries the lot number printed on the vial, which is the part that matters. A certificate showing a result without a lot number cannot be tied to the vial in front of you, and a certificate for a different lot tells you nothing about yours. Matching the printed number on the label to the number on the report is a five second check and it is the whole point of publishing both.
Identity confirmation by mass spectrometry is a separate test and is ordered as an add-on, so the figures published here come from RP-HPLC purity testing unless a report says otherwise. Where no report is published for a listing yet, the documentation held for the lot being shipped can be requested before you order. We would rather send you what exists than let you assume a certificate is available when it is not.
Synthesis and supply
Bacteriostatic water is supplied in solution rather than as a powder, so it does not require a solvent to be added before use. It is filled and sealed in a single vial and labelled with the lot number that the published report refers to. Solution formats are sensitive to temperature and light, so the storage note on this page applies from the moment the vial arrives.
External resources for researchers
These are the public reference sources we use when checking the identity of Bacteriostatic water, and the ones worth going to before relying on anything stated on a product page, including this one.
- PubChem — Compound records, computed properties, depositor-supplied identity data.
- CAS Common Chemistry — CAS Registry lookups where a registry number is known.
- ChEBI — Curated chemical ontology entries with cross-references.
- Europe PMC — Primary literature search by compound name, sequence or registry number.
- Certificate hub — Reports published for the lots released so far.
Frequently asked questions
Is the benzyl alcohol concentration the same in both vial sizes?
Yes — 0.9% w/v in both. The two fills differ in volume only; the formulation, the preservative and the documentation requirements are identical.
Does the vial need refrigeration?
No. A preserved aqueous reagent of this kind is held at controlled room temperature and away from direct light, unlike the lyophilised peptides in the catalogue, which are kept frozen. Whatever the lot documentation records is what applies.
What does a batch record for water actually cover?
Water grade, preservative identity and concentration, fill volume and the lot number, rather than the sequence, mass and purity fields a peptide lot carries. The documentation trail is the same in structure; the fields that matter are different.
Is Bacteriostatic Water supplied for human or veterinary use?
No. Bacteriostatic Water is supplied as a liquid solution in a sealed vial and is supplied strictly as a research chemical for in-vitro laboratory research. Products are sold exclusively to qualified researchers and licensed laboratories, and buyers confirm they are 18 or over and purchasing in the course of research. We only answer questions about specifications, documentation and orders.
How is the purity figure measured, and what does it actually tell me?
Purity is measured by reversed-phase HPLC at an independent laboratory, and the result is published with the method conditions rather than as a bare percentage. The figure is the proportion of the UV-absorbing material in the chromatogram that elutes as the target peak. It describes the sample as analysed; it is not a statement about what the material is for. A high figure alongside a clean chromatogram is the useful combination, which is why the report is worth reading rather than the headline number alone.
What documentation comes with a batch?
Each released lot carries a number printed on the vial label and a report stating purity by RP-HPLC, measured content against label, and the testing laboratory. Reports published so far are listed on this page and collected on the certificate hub, and each carries a lot number that can be checked against the vial in front of you. Where a report is not yet published for a listing, ask before ordering and we will send the documentation that exists for the lot being shipped.
How should Bacteriostatic Water be stored?
Bacteriostatic Water is a liquid solution, not a lyophilised powder, and is not kept in a freezer. Store the sealed vial at 20–25 °C, protected from light, and do not freeze it. Keep the vial closed between uses: the 0.9% benzyl alcohol inhibits bacterial growth but is not a sterilant. Where the lot documentation states a condition, that is what applies.
Do I need bacteriostatic water to prepare it?
A lyophilised powder needs a solvent added before it can be worked with. Bacteriostatic water, which is water with 0.9% benzyl alcohol, is the common choice because the preservative extends the working life of the solution once the vial has been opened, and we supply it in 3ml and 10ml vials. It is not the only option: where a method cannot tolerate benzyl alcohol, use the solvent the method specifies. The choice affects the sample, so it belongs to the researcher.
How and when is an order shipped?
Orders are dispatched from the United Kingdom. An order placed before 4pm on a working day is collected the same day; weekends and bank holidays roll forward to the next working day. UK orders go by tracked DPD next-day delivery, free on orders over 14 pounds and 4.99 pounds below that. Tracking is sent when the parcel is collected, so the first scan is usually visible the same evening.
Why offer three millilitres rather than one size?
Because a container larger than the work requires is a liability. Each time a septum is punctured the contents are exposed, and a vial that is opened repeatedly over a long period accumulates exposure even if the preservative is doing its job. A size that gets used up and replaced limits how long any single container stays in service, which is worth more than the convenience of one large vial.
Is bacteriostatic water the same as sterile water?
No, and the two are not interchangeable. Bacteriostatic water contains 0.9% benzyl alcohol as a preservative; sterile water does not. The preservative is what allows a vial to be opened and reused, and its absence is why a plain water vial has to be treated as single-use. The difference also matters analytically, since benzyl alcohol absorbs ultraviolet light and will appear in a chromatogram.
What is benzyl alcohol doing at 0.9%?
Inhibiting the growth of bacteria that get in. The figure is the conventional concentration for this purpose rather than a threshold with special significance, and it is not a sterilising agent. Nothing about the solution compensates for poor technique, and treating it as though it did would be a mistake. Its role is to keep a contamination event from multiplying between uses.
How does this differ from the ten millilitre vial?
Only in volume. The composition is identical, so the choice between them is about how much solvent the work needs and how quickly a vial will be used up rather than about any difference in the material. Both are stored the same way: room temperature, sealed, protected from light, and not frozen.
Documentation & batch verification
Published batch records show the laboratory, report date, purity and measured content where reported. Check the certificate for the exact lot: an HPLC purity result does not establish LC-MS identity, sterility or suitability for human or animal use. Review the published batch record before ordering.
Order Bacteriostatic Water 3ml online — UK dispatch · Request an invoice · Verify a batch
Research use only. Not for human or animal consumption.