Use & Storage Guidance

At a Glance

Where two windows overlap, work to the earlier one. A vial reconstituted five months after purchase has its own 28-day potency window, but the 6-month window from purchase closes first.

Refrigerated Storage — The Essentials

• Target 2–8 °C. A standard domestic fridge normally sits in this range. If you handle stock regularly, a small fridge thermometer is worth having.
• Use the main body of the fridge, not the door. Door shelves swing several degrees every time the fridge is opened.
• Keep items away from the back wall. The cooling plate at the rear of many fridges can drop below freezing and damage solutions and devices.
• Store upright, in the original carton. The carton protects against light, and upright storage keeps solution clear of the stopper.
• Do not freeze pens, cartridges or reconstituted solution. Freezing damages the compound and, in the case of pens, the device itself. Anything that has frozen should not be used.
• Keep in a sealed container or bag. This prevents frost build-up and keeps items separate from food.
• Keep out of reach of children and animals.

Vials — Before Reconstitution

Vials are supplied as a lyophilised (freeze-dried) powder. In this dry, sealed state the compound is at its most stable, and it should be left sealed until you are ready to prepare it.

• Use within 6 months of the date of purchase.
• Refrigerate on arrival and keep the vial sealed until the point of reconstitution.
• Keep the vial in its carton, away from direct light and away from heat sources.
• Note the purchase date on the carton if it is not already recorded — it is the start of the 6-month window.
• For long-term storage, freeze at −20 °C. A sealed, unopened lyophilised vial can be held at −20 °C for up to 2 years. The 6-month window above applies to refrigerated storage — if you are holding stock rather than working through it, the freezer is the better option.
• Allow a chilled vial to come up to room temperature before opening, so condensation does not form inside it.

Vials — After Reconstitution

Once a vial has been reconstituted, keep it refrigerated at 2–8 °C and work to a 28-day window for best results.

• Write the reconstitution date on the vial. This is the single most useful thing you can do; the 28-day window is easy to lose track of otherwise.
• Reconstitute with bacteriostatic water unless the vial’s own documentation says otherwise. Bacteriostatic water contains a preservative that supports the 28-day window; plain water for injection does not.
• Add the diluent gently down the inside wall of the vial. Do not shake. Swirl or roll slowly until dissolved — shaking foams the solution and can disrupt the compound.
• Return the vial to the fridge immediately after preparation and after every subsequent use.
• Minimise time out of refrigeration. Brief handling is fine; leaving a reconstituted vial at room temperature for hours is not — warmth shortens the potency window far faster than the calendar does.
• Condition matters more than the date. Whatever the age, a solution that has turned cloudy or discoloured, or that has developed particles, should not be used. That is a separate issue from potency and it is the one worth acting on.

For a fuller walkthrough of preparation technique and concentration calculations, see our Reconstitution Guide.

Pens & Cartridges

Pens and cartridges are supplied ready-prepared. They are prepared on the day of dispatch, so the solution inside is fresh when it leaves us.

• Use within 3 months of the date of delivery.
• Refrigerate on arrival and keep refrigerated at 2–8 °C between uses as much as possible. They’re usually fine at room temperature for up to 21 days, so a delay in the post or a spell out of the fridge won’t affect quality.
• Never freeze. A pen or cartridge that has frozen — or that you suspect has frozen — should not be used.
• Keep the cap on and store in the original carton to protect the contents from light.
• Do not store with a needle attached. Leaving a needle in place allows solution to leak out and air or contaminants to get in.
• Handle carefully. A pen that has been dropped may be damaged internally even if it looks intact.
• Note the delivery date on the carton — it is the start of the 3-month window.

Potency Over Time — What the Dates Mean

None of the windows on this page is a safety cut-off. They are potency windows — the point beyond which we can no longer promise full labelled strength. Reaching the end of one does not mean the product has spoiled or become unsafe to handle.

Pens and cartridges — what the figures show

Pens and cartridges are air-sealed. The solution is prepared in bacteriostatic water on the day of dispatch and stays within a closed system — it is never exposed to open air or to repeated needle access. Stability data on product held this way at 2–8 °C shows an average of around 97% of original potency at three months, and around 90.7% at six months. The decline is gradual and steady — there is no point at which activity falls away suddenly.

This is why the pen and cartridge window sits at 3 months — the point at which the product is, on average, still at essentially full strength. These are averages across correctly stored material rather than a guarantee for any individual device, and they assume the item has been kept refrigerated throughout: compounds differ from one another, and real-world handling — time spent out of the fridge, or a fridge running warm — reduces potency faster than the calendar alone.

Reconstituted vials

The figures above are specific to air-sealed pens and cartridges and should not be read across to a vial you have reconstituted yourself — that data covers pens and cartridges only. A vial is a different proposition: it is opened, accessed repeatedly with a needle, and warmed and re-chilled each time it is used.

For reconstituted vials we work to 28 days — the window widely accepted across the industry for a multi-use vial reconstituted in bacteriostatic water and kept at 2–8 °C. It is the preservative in bacteriostatic water that underpins it. The principle behind it is the same as above: a question of predictable strength rather than of safety. A vial used a little beyond 28 days is less certain in potency, not unusable.

On Arrival

Orders are packed for transit, and items may arrive at or near ambient temperature. Short periods outside refrigeration during shipping are expected and do not compromise the product: pens and cartridges are usually fine at room temperature for up to 21 days.

• Unpack and refrigerate as soon as the parcel arrives.
• Check the contents against your order and inspect for damage before storing.
• Record the delivery date — it is the reference point for pens and cartridges.
• If anything has arrived damaged, leaking or visibly compromised, do not use it. Contact us and we will put it right.

When Not to Use

Set an item aside and do not use it if any of the following apply:

• The solution is cloudy, discoloured, or contains visible particles or crystals.
• The vial, cartridge or pen is cracked, leaking, or the seal is damaged or missing.
• The item has been frozen, or you suspect it has been frozen.
• The item has been left unrefrigerated for a prolonged or unknown period (for pens and cartridges, more than 21 days).
• The label is missing, illegible, or you cannot confirm what the item is.

Labelling & Records

Two dates are worth recording on every item as soon as it enters storage:

• Date of purchase or delivery — written on the carton when the order is unpacked.
• Date of reconstitution — written directly on the vial at the moment it is prepared.

If you hold several items at once, rotate stock so the oldest is used first.

Disposal

Dispose of used vials, cartridges, pens and any sharps in an approved sharps container, in line with local regulations. Do not place them in household waste or recycling.