Bank payments are temporarily pausedWe apologise for the inconvenience. Crypto payments are working as normal, and bank transfer will be back shortly.Laboratory research only. Not for human consumption.
Bacteriostatic water is one of the most searched-for products in the research peptide market, and one of the most misunderstood. It's often treated as interchangeable with sterile water. It isn't, and the difference is printed right there on the label.
The difference
Both are sterile, purified water. Bacteriostatic water also contains 0.9% benzyl alcohol, a preservative that stops bacteria from multiplying. Sterile water contains nothing else.
Bacteriostatic means it stops bacteria from growing, not that it kills them outright. The benzyl alcohol doesn't sterilise anything. What it does is keep any bacteria introduced when the vial is opened from multiplying in the liquid.
That's why it matters. Every time a stopper is pierced, there's a chance of introducing contamination. In a vial with no preservative, anything introduced has nothing to stop it. In a bacteriostatic vial, the benzyl alcohol holds it back.
No preservative, so it's intended for single use. Once the seal is broken, whatever isn't used should be discarded.
Preserved, so it's intended for multiple withdrawals from the same vial. It's commonly labelled to be discarded 28 days after first opening.
Unopened bacteriostatic water is normally stored below 25°C and protected from light. Once opened, the 28-day discard window applies whatever temperature it's kept at. Always follow the storage and discard instructions on the label of the product you actually have, because they can differ between manufacturers.
Price lists sometimes include other diluents alongside bacteriostatic water, such as plain sterile water and acetic acid water, which is a dilute (around 0.6%) acetic acid solution. These are different products with different compositions. If you're not sure which one your work calls for, that's a question for your protocol, not for a seller.
Our bacteriostatic water is 0.9% benzyl alcohol in 10ml vials, lot-numbered like everything else we sell, and held in UK stock for 24-hour dispatch. As with every product we supply, it's for laboratory research use only, and we can't advise on how it's used.
All products supplied by Zenic Labs are for laboratory research use only and are not for human or veterinary consumption. No health, dosing or therapeutic claims are made about any product we sell.
Compounds mentioned
Also worth reading
Storage temperatures for lyophilised and reconstituted research peptides, why light and moisture matter, and what to check when a parcel arrives.
Eight things you can check yourself before ordering from any UK peptide supplier, including us. Most take under a minute.
How white label and wholesale research peptides work in the UK: labels, documentation, traceability, margins and the questions to ask a supplier.