Dithiothreitol (CAS 3483-12-3): storage and disposal

Keep DTT well apart from nitric acid, peroxides, permanganate and bleach. As a reducing agent it reacts with chemicals that give up oxygen readily, so a shelf holding them is the wrong place for it. In a university lab it sits on a general shelf with other reagents for protein work, usually in its original small bottle inside a labelled box. Keep it tightly closed and dry, because the powder is sensitive to air and moisture, and note the opening date on the label. Serious eye damage is on record, so keep it at a sensible height and away from open benches where dust can reach faces.

DTT has a characteristic unpleasant sulfur odour, and if it is noticed around a closed bottle the seal may be poor. The powder should be loose and white. Clumps, a damp patch or a sticky surface mean moisture has entered. The change that cannot be seen is the one that matters for use. Being a reducing agent, it gradually reacts with oxygen in the air, so an old, part-used bottle may no longer work in a protein experiment though it looks the same. Check the cap for cracks and the label for stains and fading.

We arrange this by specialist collection. We do not publish a drain or general waste route for any chemical. It is normally packed in a general laboratory pack with compatible chemicals.

Say on the record whether you hold the pure powder, how much remains and which room it was kept in. The waste code is usually 16 05 06* in a research lab, with 16 05 08* where it is a discarded organic chemical outside a pack, and 18 01 06* in human healthcare. Pack bottles with compatible organic solids, away from peroxides, permanganate or bleach in the same collection. If a bottle has leaked, leave it undisturbed, record the visible condition and tell the specialist collector so suitable containment can be arranged. DTT must not go into a sink or drain, and nobody should try to oxidise or deactivate the stock first to remove the smell.

Usually held as: solid.

Tell us the container size and how many you hold. An estimate is enough to start with, and some items cannot be priced until someone has looked at them.