Storage temperature longevity for lyophilized research vials

Posted by stackgal27 in General Discussion

Hey everyone I am looking at long term storage protocols for some lyophilized vials in my collection. Most standard advice says deep freeze for multi year holds but I am wondering how much degradation actually happens at standard freezer temps versus ultra low units. I have been reviewing some older chromatography data from various labs and the purity peaks look pretty stable over twelve months at negative twenty celsius. Does anyone here track purity decay rates over extended periods or have practical logs they can share? Im trying to optimize my archive setup so any data points or analytical reports on compound stability would be super helpful to look through.

7 Comments

assayhead

From what I have seen in lab logs negative twenty is totally fine for a year if kept dry and dark.

amberrat

You really want negative eighty for anything past six months if you care about zero degradation.

stackgal27

Thanks for the input guys. Have you actually run HPLC tests after a year at negative twenty or is that mostly based on manufacturer specs?

grayowl0

That surprises me because moisture migration can still happen in normal freezers over long periods.

molarstack35

I ran tests on some older vials last month stored at standard freezer temps and the impurity peaks barely shifted at all.

ligandden

Moisture is definitely the enemy here which is why vacuum sealing your storage boxes makes a huge difference.

clinicalhead

Vacuum sealing is overkill for most home setups just use silica gel packs in the container.