THE PHOTOCATALYTIC PRODUCTION OF ORGANIC-FREE WATER FOR MOLECULAR BIOLOGICAL AND PHARMACEUTICAL APPLICATIONS

The inability of conventional water-purification systems to meet the u ltra-high purity needs of molecular biology and biopharmaceuticals rel iably was attributed to their almost exclusive utilization of phase-tr ansfer technologies. Water quality may unpredictably degrade when conf ronted by microorganism blooms or altered feed water characteristics. Photocatalytic point-of-use water-purification systems fed by deionize d water were demonstrated to meet the most stringent water-purity need s of the molecular biologist. The reliability of the photocatalytic wa ter-purification technology was attributed to its ability to destroy o rganic contaminants rather than just effect their phase transfer. Phot ocatalytically produced water was shown to be free of detectable micro organisms, DNA, endotoxins and RNAses. It is suitable for immunologica l studies involving tissue and other cell cultures because of its lack of detectable endotoxins. Because DNA was also undetectable, it is su itable for DNA and endotoxin zero-standards as well as pharmaceutical formulation. The photocatalytic water is a reliable substitute for die thyl pyrocarbonate-treated water used in RNA work, compatible with PCR and sufficiently free from other contaminants to be useful for most b iochemical and enzymatic assays.