I work in a single-molecule analysis lab. I have been waiting on a supplier to send sodium bicarbonate for a while, and I want to begin experiments now. We have a stock of sodium bicarbonate from 2017 (five years old). Why can't I use this? Does it really have an expiration date?
I imagine if it does, it may have to do with coming into contact with the air after it was opened so many years ago.
Any help is appreciated. I dont want to do all the experiments only to have them invalidated by the fact that I used old sodium bicarbonate.
If it's solid sodium bicarbonate and it's dry, you can use it. If it's a solution, or if it has obviously absorbed a lot of moisture, don't use it.
The pH of the solution is not stable and will drift upwards over time. I always prepare a fresh solution from the solid for each day's experiments.
As this is Hygroscopic. You can't use it for Molecular studies if its 5yrs old. Prepare using fresh Chemicals.
I recommend that you test its fusion point to check its quality and compare it with the standard value.
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