Sterile technique
Category: Protocols · Last updated
Sterile technique is the set of practices that minimize introduction of microbial contamination during reconstitution and withdrawal from multi-use peptide vials. The authoritative reference for sterile manipulation in compounding is the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) General Chapter <797>.
Core practices
- Wipe vial rubber stoppers with 70% isopropyl alcohol prep pads; let dry completely (15+ seconds) before puncture.
- Use a new sterile single-use needle and syringe for each withdrawal. Do not re-cap and reuse needles across days.
- Maintain a clean, low-traffic work area free from textile shedding and visible dust during reconstitution.
- Discard any vial showing visible particulates, cloudiness, color change, or compromised seal.
- Single-needle-per-draw is the recommended USP <797> practice for multi-use research vials.
Beyond-use date (BUD)
USP <797> defines a beyond-use date (BUD) as the date or time after which a compounded sterile preparation cannot be used. For reconstituted research peptides stored at 2–8 °C, the conservative BUD assigned by the multi-use bacteriostatic-water envelope is 28 days from first reconstitution (14 days for copper complexes — see GHK-Cu).