Chromatography Forum

HI

If a reagent specifices.. for R&D use only, not for drug, household or other uses. Is this the same as a reagent that specifies Analytical grade.

Can this reagent be used in analytical testing?

Thanks!!

If you need a reagent for analytical testing, you want to find one that is as pure as possible. Analytical grade, Ultrapure, ACS grade - things like this. These grades are of much higher purity and thus more suited for analytical work. That warning statement about "for R&D use only" is on most (if not all) of the chemicals you'll find in the lab. I believe it's simply to make sure it's not used in a manufacturing process.

If I'm wrong about this, I'm sure some of the more experienced posters will correct me.

"For R&D use only" is intended to prevent the general public from using the chemical as a medicine.

It's quite common for medicine manufacturers to use AR grade chemicals in formulated products, but only after going through a major qualification and approval process involving the specific supplier.

The Analytical grades from chemical suppliers usually have to meet published specifications, such as ACS Reagent Chemicals, and the catalogue specification usually lists which standards are complied with. These are chemical criteria, not medical safety criteria.

In general, if the chemical has no detailed specification, it's very unlikely to meet AR grade, otherwise it would be sold as that grade ( more expensive, more profit ).

Most manufacturers catalogues and websites will detail the different grades. You choose the grade that is appropriate for the analytical technique you are using.

Note that most expensive grade may not be appropriate for all applications, or even be the most pure. For example, chromatography and spectroscopy grades of a salt may have more impurities than an AR grade, but the residual impurities present in the special grade don't absorb in the UV, or have trace metals that would compromise spectroscopic analysis.

(1) R&D use only. Yes, it's there to discourage my wife from using the lab reserpine standard for cleaning stains off the skirting boards.

(2) Purity of reagents: some years back, working in Germany, we found that the sugar we were using in our coffee room, bought from the local supermarket, was purer than the analytical grade sucrose from a major chemical supplier. No comment.