What Bacteriostatic Water is

Class and mechanism

Bacteriostatic Water is a sterile diluent. Sterile water containing 0.9% benzyl alcohol as a bacteriostatic preservative. The preservative is what permits multiple withdrawals from the same vial, unlike sterile water for injection which is single-use.

Where it sits

Ancillary compounds sit alongside a primary compound rather than replacing it. They are usually pharmaceutical products with long established use outside this context.

Worth knowing

The correct diluent matters. Some peptides are specified for bacteriostatic water, others for sterile water or a supplied diluent, and the batch documentation is the authority.

Other names

Bacteriostatic Water is also written as BW and Bac water. The same molecule appears under more than one name, which is worth knowing when comparing listings between suppliers.

Others in the ancillary compounds range

Bacteriostatic Water sits in the ancillary compounds group. The compounds below share that grouping, which is the useful starting point when comparing one against another: same group means the comparison is like for like, different group usually means it is not.