Bacteriostatic Water: research overview
Bacteriostatic Water is sterile water with 0.9% benzyl alcohol, a standard research reagent for laboratories. It is used as a solvent in laboratory work, especially for reconstituting lyophilised research peptides. The composition is simple.
What is Bacteriostatic Water
Bacteriostatic water consists of sterile water and benzyl alcohol (CAS 100-51-6) at a concentration of 0.9%. The water acts as the solvent, while the benzyl alcohol works as a preservative that limits microbial growth in the solution. This helps the reagent keep its properties across repeated withdrawals from the same vial.
We supply the product in two sizes: 3 ml and 10 ml. Both have the same composition and differ only in vial volume.
Mechanism described in research
In the pharmaceutical literature, benzyl alcohol is described as an agent with a bacteriostatic action. This means it slows the growth of bacteria rather than killing them instantly. That property is why water with this additive is chosen for solutions that are opened many times, where microbial stability matters throughout the work.
The product is intended exclusively for laboratory use and is not intended for use in humans or animals.
Research applications
- dissolving lyophilised peptides before analysis
- preparing working solutions of a known composition
- diluting samples in analytical procedures
- standardising the solvent across repeated series of experiments
Product specification
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | Bacteriostatic Water |
| CAS number | 7732-18-5 (water), 100-51-6 (benzyl alcohol) |
| Formula | H2O, with C7H8O (benzyl alcohol) added |
| Molecular mass | 18.02 g/mol (water) |
| Sequence | not applicable |
| Form | solution, sterile liquid |
| Purity | benzyl alcohol content 0.9% (w/v) |
Working in the laboratory
Reconstitution and storage
Reconstitution means dissolving a lyophilised product in a suitable volume of solvent. Bacteriostatic water is the usual choice for this step, because it limits microbial growth when the solution is withdrawn many times.
- Lyophilised material: store at -20 °C, tightly closed and protected from light.
- Solution after reconstitution: store at 2-8 °C.
- Freezing: avoid repeated freezing and thawing, and divide the solution into smaller aliquots.
- Bacteriostatic water: keep closed at room temperature, away from light.
You can calculate the solvent volume and the resulting concentration in our concentration calculator.
Choosing a vial size
A 3 ml vial suits single projects. The 10 ml vial lets you keep a reserve for longer series, so you do not need to reorder in the middle of your work.
Batch quality
Controls include HPLC for purity and mass spectrometry (MS) to confirm the mass. You can read how we approach quality control on our quality page.
Related products
- BPC-157: a lyophilised peptide that is reconstituted in bacteriostatic water for research.
- TB-500: a lyophilised peptide prepared for reconstitution in laboratory work.
- Concentration calculator: work out solvent volume and solution concentration.
- Sterile Water: sterile water without preservative, a solvent for one-time reconstitution of lyophilised peptides.
- Acetic Acid 0.6%: a 0.6% acetic acid solution in sterile water, a solvent for peptides that dissolve poorly in neutral water.
