Water Training

Water is the most important solvent we use for our many exciting experiments in our labs. In SRC, we have three different options for water:

• Deionized water or DI (SRC 224 and 324).

• Reverse Osmosis water or RO (Sink in our open labs).

• Ultrapure water or MilliQ (SRC 224 and 324).

Which water should you use for your experiments? First, refer to your PI and the protocols you have. Here is some important information to know about each water system.

 Deionized water (DI)

• The system is connected to a tank with resins that exchange H+ and OH- for dissolved minerals, removing cations and anions from the water.

• The DI water system is not efficient in removing microorganisms and organic impurities.

Reverse Osmosis (RO)

• Removes 90-99% of contaminants from the water, including ions (cations and anions).

• Used to rinse dishes, make buffers, media, etc.

Ultrapure water (MilliQ)

• No ions (cations and anions).

• No residual organic material (e.g., bacteria).

• Pure water (18.2mΩ.cm at 25°C).

• Used for a small volume of buffers that require pure water (e.g., PCR, enzymatic reaction)

To operate the MilliQ water systems and the DI water system, you must request a training session with Dr. Volodymyr Nesterov. Make sure to click on the link below to request your training.