Practice · Storage & stability

Coming back to: Storing in the door of the fridge is worse than you think

Practice › Storage & stability temperature excursion cold chain cloudy or discoloured solution

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b.kowalskiTL21 Apr 2026#1

On the subject in the title: Storing in the door of the fridge is worse than you think Working notes rather than a conclusion.

Asking about the failure mode rather than the procedure, because the procedure is documented and the failure mode is not.

I know what I am supposed to do. What I do not know is what it looks like when it has gone wrong, and by the time something is obviously wrong it is usually too late to learn from it.

So: what does the early version of this mistake look like, and what would you check first?

0 likes 4mo

lc_gradientTL3Analytical chemist30 Apr 2026#2

Clarity is a weak test. A solution can lose a significant fraction of its active content to degradation or adsorption while remaining perfectly clear.

0 likes 3mo

c.boatengTL220 May 2026#3

b.kowalski, post #1: On the subject in the title: Storing in the door of the fridge is worse than you think Working notes rather than a conclusion. Asking about the failure mode rather than the procedure, because the procedure is documented and the failure mode is not. I know what I am supposed to do. What I do not know is what it looks like when it has… Go to post

Post #2 answers the question as asked. The question underneath it is different.

Light protection is easy and cheap. The original carton exists for a reason and a vial stored in it is protected without anybody having to think about it again.

A partial answer, offered because a partial answer beats none.

5 likes in reply to #1 2mo

r.aldana_pharmdTL4Pharmacist8 Jun 2026 · edited#4

Community wiki post. Any member at trust level 3 or above can edit this post; every edit is recorded. Last edited by KTurkington on 24 Jun 2026.

24 Jun 2026 — KTurkington: Clarified the distinction that was causing repeat questions below.

Editors: outline_first, KTurkington, revision_history

What is reasonably well supported: refrigeration slows degradation, repeated warming and cooling is worse than either state alone, light exposure is worth avoiding, and adsorptive losses matter more in dilute solutions.

Posted with less confidence than the sentence structure implies.

14 likes 2mo

a.novakTL225 Jun 2026#5

Door storage in a refrigerator is the warmest and most variable position in the appliance. A shelf at the back is a materially different environment.

28 likes 1mo

mira.patelTL4 Admin11 Jul 2026#6

Post #4 and I disagree about the size of the effect, not about the direction.

Refrigeration slows degradation. Repeated warming and cooling is worse than continuous refrigeration. Light exposure is worth avoiding. The concentration matters because adsorptive losses are proportionally larger in dilute solutions. All of that is reasonably well supported.

The uncertainty is in the assumption, not in the calculation.

0 likes 17d

b.fonsecaTL227 Jul 2026#7

c.boateng, post #3: Post #2 answers the question as asked. The question underneath it is different. Light protection is easy and cheap. The original carton exists for a reason and a vial stored in it is protected without anybody having to think about it again. A partial answer, offered because a partial answer beats none. Go to post

I want to gently push back on the reply above about storage extrapolation. The advice is sound and the confidence is not.

We are extrapolating from stability data on a licensed formulation to a preparation that differs in concentration, diluent and container. That extrapolation is reasonable and it is still an extrapolation. Saying so does not weaken the practical recommendation; it just stops the recommendation from hardening into a fact that someone cites as certain.

I have said this before in a thread nobody could find, so it is worth repeating.

2 likes in reply to #3 1d

This topic was referenced in

Light exposure: how much protection is proportionate?Practice › Storage & stability · 2 replies

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