Molecular biology kits, such as QIAGEN Miniprep Kits or DNeasy Blood and Tissue Kits, are a staple in research laboratories across campus. Often boxes of these kits are stored on the shelves above lab benches, separately from lab chemicals. However, these kits contain chemicals, even if the chemicals have innocuous names like “Buffer P1”. 

Because they contain chemicals, these kits should be added to the lab’s chemical inventories in EHS Assistant (EHSA). Rather than adding each individual component, add the entire kit to the chemical inventory. The total volume of all components should be entered as the volume for that entry. The manufacturer generally provides a single safety datasheet (SDS) for the whole kit. Accordingly, the SDS for that kit will be available via Chemwatch.

Many kits are already in the chemical catalog of EHSA. However, if you cannot find your specific kit in the catalog, click “Not Found in Catalog” in the upper right corner of the search window. Please enter the kit by the official name on the manufacturer’s website or the SDS.

 Both the login for EHSA and Chemwatch can be found on the EHS website.