Two flexible systems produce deionized special reagent water

By Bob Applequist, Senior Application Specialist

On March 27, 2014 in Articles

Information sharing technologies and TV dramas like CSI have increased everyone’s awareness of analytical methods, so Special Reagent Water requirements just aren’t that “Special” anymore. Special Reagent Water has been described in the past as water for use in HPLC analytical methods, Molecular Cell Biology methods or chromosomal analyses. These methods have become quite common in many laboratories today.

The first system one might turn to for special reagent water is Labconco’s WaterPro (PS) Polishing System. The WaterPro PS produces ultrapure water, which is often referred to as 18 megohm water, or Type I water. These polishing systems are quite capable of producing special reagent water with the addition of ultraviolet and/or ultra filter modules to meet the user's laboratory requirements.

At the heart of all WaterPro PS Stations is one 20" long carbon filter and two 20" long mixed bed (strong base/strong acid) deionization resin filters. The deionization filters remove the inorganic elements which have a strong positive or negative atomic charge.

The carbon filters remove the organic contaminants that are weakly charged from the supply water source. Together the carbon and deionization filters produce the ultra pure (Type I) water, free of inorganic and organic chemical contaminants down to the parts per billon level. 

• Carbon filters remove organics and chlorine contaminants.

• Deionization filters remove inorganic contaminants.

Depending on the user’s application requirements, the WaterPro PS/HPLC or PS/UF Polishing Stations can be selected to produce special reagent water.

• Organic adsorption filters remove Total Organic Carbons (TOCs) to levels lower than

5 parts-per-billion.

• Ultra-filters remove particles, microorganisms and pyrogen/endotoxin for life science applications with filtration capacity of 0.01 microns, removing pyrogens down to a 10,000 Dalton molecular weight.

• Dual wavelength ultraviolet light reduces TOC and reduces bacterial growth within the system’s closed recirculation loop for microbiology and tissue culture science applications.

Labconco’s Polishing Systems are flexible because UV and UF modules that can be added to basic units as the user's laboratory needs change.

All WaterPro PS models deliver up to 1.8 liters per minute of Type I water on demand and feature continuous recirculation of the water within the Station. The Polishing Stations come with a hand-held dispensing gun on a 3 feet long flexible recirculating line and/or dispensing valve.

Another way to produce special reagent water, for smaller volume applications, is the WaterPro (Bench Top) BT. The WaterPro BT is an all-in-one water purification system designed for laboratories needing between 1 and 10 liters of RO or ultrapure (Type I) water per day.

The WaterPro BT can deliver ultrapure water manually or volumetrically, and RO water is dispensed from an integral 6 liter tank through a manual valve. The WaterPro BT has a small footprint, is lightweight, and can be easily moved from lab to lab.