Water is essential for human life. From the maintenance of bodily functions to the manufacture of food and medicine, water supports countless essential processes that are critical for human survival. That’s why ensuring water quality through routine testing is paramount. Water testing can help pinpoint sources of contamination, identify contaminated water before it is used, and determine if a sterilization/purification program is working properly.

Drinking water, for example, can be contaminated from numerous sources such as sewage release, naturally occurring chemicals, runoff from manufacturing processes, or from the malfunctioning of on-site wastewater treatment systems. The presence of contaminants in drinking water can lead to serious health issues, including gastrointestinal illness or neurological disorders. Identifying the presence of contaminants and where they originated from is essential for preserving human health and safety.

Likewise, contaminated water presents a serious concern in the development of pharmaceuticals. Here, water is often used as an essential ingredient of drugs or as a solvent or diluent for parenterally administered drugs. Therefore, making sure it doesn't contain any objectionable microorganisms is critical for the quality, efficacy, and safety of the medication.

When developing and validating a water quality control assay, it is essential to ensure that it demonstrates analytical specificity and sensitivity by using high-quality, authenticated reference materials. That’s why for nearly a century, industry leaders and regulatory agencies have relied on ATCC reference materials for use in assay development and as a run control. 

By following strict quality control and manufacturing standards in our own laboratories, ATCC scientists meticulously characterize and preserve microbial cultures for your testing to ensure reproducibility of results across time and among laboratories. Trust ATCC for your laboratory quality control water testing supplies—explore our portfolio today.