Heavy water (D2O), also called deuterium oxide, is a stable, non-radioactive isotopic form of water, containing 2 atoms of deuterium (D) and one atom of oxygen.
Deuterium oxide is applied in many biological and chemical processes. In biological processes, D2O is used for metabolic labeling of biomolecules, which can then be analysed by NMR spectrometry or mass spectrometry (see “Stable Isotopes in NMR” and “Stable Isotopes in mass spectronomy“). Especially in the field of NMR spectroscopy, D2O is necessary for the production of deuterated solvents.
Recently the deuteration of drugs has also emerged as an area with great potential.
In addition to biological applications, many promising new applications, such as in optical fiber technology and OLED technology, are opening up for the future.
Silantes offers a D2O recovery service. View our deuterium oxide services in our webshop.
Learn about other Silantes products
- Isotopically labeled components for NMR
- SILAM and SILAC for quantitative mass spectrometry
