Laboratory

Q. Some of our glassware was left soaking in Alconox or Alconox and then bleach for a long period of time. Is this okay? A. Laboratory glassware that is completely submerged in an Alconox® solution is generally ok even with extended soaking. However, if you leave the laboratory glassware partially submerged…

Q. We see white water spots on cleaned and depyrogenated vials. Looks to be scale from the washer. Do you have a recommended cleaning agent for vial washing? I am told that use of detergents is not an industry norm. We also have baked on process fluids (oils) and would like to know if it is an industry norm to use detergents to remove such substances from glass vials used for injectable drugs. Can you provide me any literature on the subject?

A. In automated washer cleaning, it is possible to get scale buildups of metal hydroxides, oxides and carbonates. To remove this scale …

Q. I am searching for waterbath cleansing agent. We only do our maintenance twice a year, so, we need something on a smaller scale. We are preventing expired reagents. What do you recommend?

A. Our smallest size waterbath cleansing agent is Liquinox in a 1 quart bottle. This has a 2-year-from-date-of-manufacture shelf life and can have a 1-year-shelf-life extension on request. You can find this in our catalog as number 1232.

One quart will make 25 gallons…

Q. Is corrosion testing advisable on type I borosilicate glass labware?

A. Type 1 borosilicate glass has excellent corrosion resistance properties. For this reason, it is commonly used for laboratory glassware to hold a wide range of chemical compounds without interacting with those compounds. Alconox, Inc. detergents have not been reported to attack type I borosilicate glass.

Q. We would like a list of mild detergents that could be used for cleaning serofuges.

A. The serological tubes used in serofuges can have difficult to clean protein residues. These residues are best cleaned by a proteolytic enzymatic cleaner such as Tergazyme.