PeptideCompareBacteriostatic Water — EU research guide.
Bacteriostatic water is sterile water containing benzyl alcohol as a bacteriostatic preservative, supplied in multiple-dose vials. It is not a peptide and has no pharmacological activity as a diluent; it is a different product from sterile water and from saline.
What is bacteriostatic water?
Bacteriostatic water for injection is sterile water containing a bacteriostatic preservative, benzyl alcohol. On the Hospira label for its 30 mL multiple-dose vial the strength is 0.9% (9 mg/mL), the pH is 5.7 (4.5 to 7.0) and the stated purpose is diluting or dissolving drugs for intravenous, intramuscular or subcutaneous injection; the 20 mL glass vial on the same label lists 1.1% (11 mg/mL). A bacteriostatic preservative inhibits bacterial growth; it does not replace sterility. The product differs from sterile water without preservative, which is single-use, and from bacteriostatic saline, which contains benzyl alcohol in 0.9% sodium chloride instead of water.
What does the research show?
No efficacy claims are made: as a diluent it is a vehicle, not a treatment. The safety literature concerns the preservative. A 1982 report in the New England Journal of Medicine (Gershanik) described a gasping syndrome in neonates linked to benzyl alcohol exposure from bacteriostatic solutions, and the current label states in capitals that the product is not for use in neonates because benzyl alcohol has been associated with toxicity in that population. On vial handling, CDC guidance says an opened multi-dose vial should be dated and discarded within 28 days unless the manufacturer states another date.
EU legal status
This page does not name a specific EU marketing authorisation for bacteriostatic water. A vial sold by a research vendor is not itself an authorised medicine unless it carries a marketing authorisation number; the sterility, grade, preservative content, labelling and Ph. Eur. or USP compliance of a specific vendor vial cannot be assumed from this page, so the COA and label of each listing should be read.
Molecular information
Pharmacokinetics
Potency retained over time
Each line is one storage condition: it starts at 100% and falls as potency is lost. Above the dashed 80% line the material is considered reliable — hover for exact values.
⚠ Computed from molecular properties (sequence length, cyclisation, residues prone to oxidation or deamidation, light sensitivity), per compound. Indicative only — not lab-measured per batch.
Bacteriostatic Water across EU suppliers
COA-verified EU vendors · Updated monthly
References
- US label of bacteriostatic water: 0.9% (9 mg/mL) benzyl alcohol in 30 mL vials and 1.1% in 20 mL glass vials, pH 5.7 (4.5 to 7.0), not for use in neonates, storage at 20 to 25 °C. Bacteriostatic Water for Injection, USP (multiple-dose vial). DailyMed drug label, Hospira, Inc. Source
- Report of a gasping syndrome in neonates linked to benzyl alcohol. Gershanik J, Boecler B, Ensley H, et al. N Engl J Med 1982;307(22):1384-1388. DOI
- Injection-safety guidance: 28-day discard limit for opened multi-dose vials unless the manufacturer states otherwise. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Preventing Unsafe Injection Practices (Injection Safety). Source