Microwaves are for warming your lunch, not chemicals
With winter in full force, pharmacies in cold northern climates may see items “freeze” when shipped.
The chemicals listed below freeze close to room temperature, and the liquid can crystalize during shipment. However, they are fine to use once they return to room temperature. The best method to warm these chemicals for use is outlined below.
As a reminder, do not under any circumstance try to speed up the heating process by microwaving a frozen liquid chemical. This can generate hazardous fumes or vapors when certain chemicals are heated to an excess temperature. Save the microwave for lunch!
How to warm frozen items
- Loosen the lid on the bottle/container so the chemical is able to vent.
- Place the original container in a sealed bag (zip-lock type) – the bag needs to be big enough to completely enclose the chemical container.
- Place the sealed bag in a warm water bath (35 to 40°C) until the chemical returns to a normal liquid state.
Here are some items you may order for your pharmacy that have a low freezing point and may freeze/congeal during normal shipping in winter months:
- Acetic Acid, Glacial, USP
- Almond Oil, Sweet, NF
- Cottonseed Oil, NF
- Dimethyl Sulfoxide, USP
- Ethyl Oleate, NF
- Ferric Subsulfate, USP
- Isopropyl Palmitate, NF
- Lecithin Organogel
- Phenol Liquefied, USP
- Sesame Oil, NF
- Vitamin A Palmitate in Corn Oil
- Vitamin D3 in Corn Oil
- Vitamin E Acetate, Liquid, USP
Don’t forget that physical chemistry and safety information can be found on the Safety Data Sheet for each of these chemicals, available at each of the product links above. If you need a Certificate of Analysis, these are available by lot for APIs, select excipients, and other chemicals – you can search by lot number here, or contact our team at 800.239.5288.
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