what conditions are good for mold growing?

[ym3142]

I am new in the area of stability indicating HPLC method development and my background is more in the area of chemistry. So could anyone here teach me some about mold growing in the HPLC analytical lab? Are the follwoing right: 1) qualified DI-water is good for mold growing; 2) organic like methanol and acetonitrile will kill mold; 3) sulfate is good for mold growing. Thanks

[DR]

Rules of thumb:

Mold will grow wherever you would least like it to grow.

Mold will grow in DI water tanks if they aren't turned over often enough.

Mold will grow faster in tanks containing dilute buffers (esp. phosphates).

Anything you add to the system (aside from >5% organic solvent) will absorb so strongly at the wavelength you plan to use that it will render your buffer useless for LC work.