Storage & handling guide
How research materials are stored and handled in the laboratory has a direct effect on whether your results stay reproducible. This guide covers the general best practice that keeps a compound matching the certificate it shipped with.
Storage protects the integrity of your reference material
A certificate of analysis describes a compound as it was at the moment of testing — its verified identity, its purity, and its concentration. Storage and handling are what carry that snapshot forward to the bench. Research-grade materials are sensitive to their environment, and the same conditions that degrade a compound also pull it away from the documented values you are relying on.
Heat, light, air, and moisture are the common drivers of degradation. Excess heat and exposure to light can accelerate chemical breakdown; contact with air and humidity can alter a compound over time. As a material degrades, both its effective concentration and, in some cases, its identity can shift — which means the figures on the COA no longer reflect what is actually in the container. Treating storage as part of the experiment, rather than an afterthought, is the simplest way to keep a reference compound behaving like a reference. For background on what those documented values represent, see understanding your COA and how each batch is verified through our quality-control process.
Storing solutions and powders
The principles are the same for both forms — cool, dark, sealed, and contained — with a few differences in how each is best kept. This is general laboratory guidance, not instruction for any specific use.
Solutions
- Keep cool or cold, in line with general practice for liquid reference materials.
- Store away from direct heat and light; a dark, temperature-stable place is preferable.
- Keep the cap tightly sealed and the container upright to limit air contact.
- Allow a refrigerated bottle to reach a stable, settled state before any measurement.
Powders
- Keep dry — moisture is a primary concern for powdered materials.
- Store cool and dark, sealed in their original container away from heat and light.
- Minimise opening time so the material is exposed to humidity as little as possible.
- Let a chilled container return to a stable state before opening to reduce condensation.
Handling that keeps a batch traceable
Good handling is mostly about discipline — protecting the seal, recording what you have, and keeping the material clean and clearly identified throughout the work.
Keep the induction seal intact until use
Each bottle ships induction-sealed. Leaving the seal in place until the material is needed is the clearest signal that the contents have not been disturbed since testing. See lab accreditation
Record the batch code
Note the batch code from the label in your records so the material in front of you maps back to its certificate of analysis. That link is what makes a result auditable later. Read the COA guide
Avoid contamination
Use clean implements, do not return unused material to the container, and close it promptly. Keeping the material isolated from other substances protects both its identity and your data.
Label clearly and follow institutional practice
Label working containers with the compound and batch code, keep documentation with the material, and follow your institution’s safety and handling procedures throughout. Research-use disclaimer
Shelf life and stability vary — the COA is your reference point
There is no single shelf life that applies to every research compound. Stability depends on the material itself, its physical form, and the conditions it is kept in — the same compound can hold up very differently under cool, dark, sealed storage than under heat and light. For that reason, this guide deliberately stays qualitative: store properly, keep things cool, dark, sealed, and dry, and you give any compound the best chance of staying close to how it was characterised.
What you can anchor to is the documentation. The batch code and its certificate of analysis describe the material as it was verified — identity, purity above 99%, and concentration — through independent ISO/IEC 17025 testing. That documented baseline is the reference point against which storage decisions make sense: the better the conditions you maintain, the longer the material stays representative of what was tested. To revisit what those figures mean, see understanding your COA, or browse the catalog of solutions and powders to see how each form is supplied.
Documented, traceable, and built to stay that way
Every batch is independently tested and traceable to its certificate of analysis. Store it well, and the material on your bench keeps matching the paperwork.